Dead Parenting
by BeautifulDisasterAJ
Summary: Sequel to Dead and Dating. Eric and Sookie discover the "joys" of parenthood. May have a few rated M chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M (possibly in later chapters)

Here is the sequel to Dead and Dating.

A/N: This is a short one. But don't worry, I'll be getting to the good stuff soon. I just didn't want to make everyone wait too long for the first chapter.

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I sat on the floor, laughing my head off at Eric. He had always been amusing, but watching him try to put together a crib had to be the funniest thing I'd ever had the pleasure of viewing.

"Can't we just pay someone to do this?"

"No, come on, this should be fun."

"The directions are wrong."

"I doubt that." I pushed myself out of the beautiful white rocking chair that Eric had bought me and wobbled over to him. Yes, that's right, wobbled. What I was doing couldn't even be considered walking. Eric tossed the screw driver down and tried to embrace me. His arms wouldn't even fit around me any more. When his hands couldn't connect I started crying.

"Oh no, come on, please don't cry again."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes with the back of my hands.

"You hate me because I gained weight. My baby bump isn't so cute now is it?"

"You're beautiful. And the fact that you are carrying our miracle child just makes it even better."

I sniffled again and buried my head in his chest. I was sick of being pregnant. It was cute at first, but now it was just annoying.

"You only have 3 more months to go." He moved to stand behind me, reaching around to rub my stomach.

"Which brings me to my next point. What happens if I go into labor during the day?"

"We have the midwife."

"I know, but I want you to be there." I was trying not to whine, but it wasn't working. I loved our midwife. She was amazing. It was a lucky chance that we found her. She specializes in 'other' pregnancies. She had tried to calm me by telling me that we could always induce my labor so Eric would be there for the main event. But the closer I got to my due date, the less comfortable I felt about everything. I was worried about the million things that could go wrong.

Eric put his hand on my back and guided me to our bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed and he knelt before me. He slid my slippers off me and picked up my right foot. He ran his thumbs over the arch of my foot.

"Oh, Eric, that feels good."

He didn't say a word. I laid back on the bed and let him massage my feet. After carrying around so much weight all the time they were killing me. It finally got to the point were I was put on maternity leave at Merlotte's. It wasn't official maternity leave, considering I wasn't getting paid. It was just better than saying I had temporarily quit. I still didn't know how I'd work out the baby and Merlotte's. Something told me that my days as a waitress were long gone.

Eric finished massaging my feet and crawled up into bed with me. He let his hand slide over my stomach and up to my breasts. I immediately swatted him away.

"They hurt."

"You're no fun."

"You carry this baby around and then we'll talk about fun."

I'll admit that I had been slacking in the sex department. I had secretly been worrying about Eric leaving me. We weren't having regular sex and he wasn't feeding on me. Thankfully, I knew he wasn't feeding on anyone else. I had picked up that little bit of information while watching him down True Blood in the kitchen late one night.

I rolled over to face him. He leaned forward to kiss me. But my huge stomach was getting in the way. I could barely take it anymore. The water works started all over again. I started to wonder if getting pregnant so soon was such a smart idea. Eric slid up the bed a little farther so he could reach me. He gently placed one hand on my cheek and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I love the way you look pregnant. I think it's beautiful. There is nothing more natural in the world."

"I know, I'm just worried that your sick of me. We haven't been having sex. You won't feed from me."

"Never, I would never get sick of you. I can live without regular sex. And I can drink True Blood. It's fine. I swear I'm okay with this."

I sighed and tried to snuggle closer to him. I knew I should take a nap. Fangtasia was closed tonight, but Pam swore she needed me to interview waitresses. Of course I had seen right through that one. It was baby shower time. I couldn't deny her if I tried. She was too excited, she had been waiting for a while to throw me a baby shower. It cracked me up that she thought I didn't know what she was up to.

"Are you coming to the baby shower tonight?"

"I thought Pam needed you to interview people."

"Eric, honestly, think about it."

He laughed. It made his chest rumble, I liked that sound.

"I think I'll skip that. Just make sure someone takes pictures. I understand from Pam that there is some kind of silly hat involved."

"Yes there is, and no I won't be wearing one."

"Sure."

"No, seriously, I will not under any circumstances put the stupid hat on."

"Okay. Why don't you nap for an hour?"

"Stay with me?"

"Of course."

I slid up to my pillow and rolled onto my side. Eric slid behind me so my back was against his chest. He rested his hand on my stomach, lightly brushing over it. Just then the baby kicked, and kicked hard. Eric's hand jolted back.

"Was that what I thought it was?" He looked at my stomach like an alien might pop out.

"The baby kicked." I couldn't control my smile. I had been feeling the little kicks for a while now, but this was the first time Eric had felt it. He had a huge smile on his face. He placed his hand back on my stomach, but frowned when the baby didn't kick again. The frown didn't last to long. He was obviously unable to stop smiling.

"Our baby is going to be a little ass kicker." I laughed when he said that. Leave it to Eric to think of our child kicking someones ass.

"Mhmm." I agreed. "Now sleep."

I snuggled back up against him and was out like a light. I knew in an hour I had to get up and head to Fangtasia.

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TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M (possibly in later chapters)

I want to take this chance to thank DontKawai for the research she did into Dhampires and Fae babies. Thank you so much for all of your help. Also, anyone who enjoy's my story should really check her story out as well. She is an amazing writer and I find her story to be addictive.

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_*Flash*_

"I can't believe you did that Pam."

"What? I had to get a picture of the hat."

She could hardly hold in her laughing. I was sitting at Fangtasia, surrounded by some people I knew, and a bunch I didn't, wearing a silly hat that was made from the ribbons and bows from all the baby gifts. I was surprised how many people were there, but then I figured Pam probably ordered all the female vamps in the area to be there. Amelia, Octavia, Holly, and even Tara had shown up for the party. We played silly games, I lost just about every one of them. I had started out with clothes pins attached to my shirt like everyone else. Of course every time I said the word baby I had one taken away. I had lost that game pretty quickly.

"You promise you won't show that to Eric?"

"Yeah, right." She laughed at the thought of not showing it to Eric. "Here, you still have one more gift left."

She picked up a large box wrapped in pretty white paper with little teddy bears all over it. I plucked the card off the top and opened it.

_Sookie & Eric,_

_Congrats on bringing a tiny terror into the world._

_Love,_

_Pam_

I laughed at the words tiny terror. I had often thought the same thing. If the baby ended up with Eric's personality we were in for quite the ride through the teenage years. I smiled at the thought, then gently started peeling back the paper. It was so pretty that I didn't want to rip it to shreds. Underneath the wrapping paper was a plain brown box. Pam grabbed a knife and cut the tape for me. She looked so impatient, like she was genuinely excited to see my response.

Laying on the top was a small white sweater box. I opened it up, inside was the most beautiful dress I had ever laid eyes on. It was so tiny and...pink. It looked to be all silk with a little black bow around the waist. I teared up a bit and held it up so everyone could see. When everyone had a good look I put it back into the box and sat it down with the other gifts. When I looked back into the box I could see what was underneath.

It was a beautiful wooden rocking horse. It looked old and very fragile. I was scared to pick it up so Pam lifted it for me. Once it was out of the box I could see that it definitely was old. It had a pink ribbon tied around the neck of the horse. It looked hand carved.

"Pam.."

She waved it off. "Just something I picked up at the store."

I knew it was much more than that. I'd get the story out of her later, but for now I was so touched by the gifts that I pushed myself up to give her a hug. I laid my head on her shoulder and cried for a minute.

"Eric was right, you've become a sap." She reached down and grabbed a huge bow that had been on her gift, she placed it right on top of my already ridiculous hat. She stood back and snapped a picture of me sticking my tongue out at her.

"Priceless. I have one more thing for you."

She handed me a box with matching wrapping paper. I tore this one open, excited to see what was in it. I unwrapped the tissue paper from around it and smiled when I realized what it was. It was a pink baby book. Pam was thrilled by the fact I was having a girl. Eric was convinced I was having a boy, until the ultrasound. That took care of that. I knew I had been right.

I turned back to all my guests. "Thank you all for coming I truly do appreciate it." It was getting close to midnight and I was sleepy. Pam could tell so she hurried everyone along. Once almost everyone was gone she asked Amelia to drive her car back to Eric's and for Octavia to follow in Amelia's car, so that Pam could drive me. She didn't want me driving so late when I was so tired. It seemed like a production just to get me home, but I was glad I didn't have to drive.

After confirming the plans with Amelia and Octavia, Pam loaded all my gifts into the back of my SUV and off we went.

~*~

As soon as we walked in the front door I was ready to sleep. Pam told me to head upstairs and she would get all the gifts. For that I would be forever grateful. I dragged myself upstairs, heading straight for the bed, kicking off my shoes at the bottom of the steps.

"Sookie, come in here please." I heard Eric's voice coming from the bathroom. I sure hope he wasn't trying to seduce me. I was beyond tired. When I walked into the bathroom there were candles on every available surface.

"Eric..."

"I'm not trying to seduce you. I just want you to relax."

He walked over to me and slid my shirt off over my head. Then he released my bra, which had barely been holding my breasts in, if they had grown any bigger I don't know what I would have done. He slid down my body, stopping only to kiss my stomach and whisper to the baby. Once he was done at my stomach he slid my skirt and panties off of me.

"Come, let me bathe you."

He looked so innocent when he said it. I knew he had wanted more, but he respected the changes that my body was going through. We had given up our marathon sex sessions. When we did have sex it was very gentle. I knew that he couldn't wait for me to give birth and heal up so we could get back to our old ways. Something told me that he would be in for a shock when he realized that you can't have sex when a baby is screaming and crying in your ear to be fed. I laughed at the thought of us being interrupted, I knew eventually he'd just beg me to hire a live in nanny. That wouldn't happen though. I wanted to raise my child myself, with his help, of course.

I shook the thoughts from my head. I was suppose to be relaxing.

I stepped into the shower and Eric followed me in. The warm water felt amazing. Eric lathered up his hands and gently started kneading my back. I was in heaven, my back was killing me, but Eric and his magic fingers were quickly taking care of that problem. When he was done cleaning and massaging my back he turned me to face him. he washed the rest of me, leaving my stomach for last. He knelt down in the shower and laid his head on my stomach. I watched the water run down off of me and onto his golden hair. His hands where massaging my sides and hips. Finally he pulled his head away from my stomach and gave it a little kiss. He followed up with his hands, gently massaging my belly and whispering to the baby the whole time. I had to admit, it was amazing to see.

Here was the powerful, dangerous, not to mention sexy, Eric Northman, brought to his knees, rubbing and whispering to my stomach. He was going to be an amazing father. Our daughter had not even been born yet, but he was already wound around her tiny little finger. Every night while we laid in bed he would curl up next to me, with his head on my heart and hand on my stomach. He'd whisper to her in old Norse. I didn't know the language, but it was beautiful to listen to.

Eric stood up and planted a kiss on my lips. "I have a surprise for you."

He helped me out of the shower and toweled me dry. I sat on the edge of the tub while he gently brushed my hair. When he was done I pulled it up into a pony-tail and slipped into the nightgown that he had brought in the bathroom for me. He finished cleaning up the bathroom for me then lead me out of the bathroom. He stopped in front of the baby's room.

"I did this myself, with no help. So please don't think I paid someone to do it."

He opened the bedroom door and my eyes instantly teared up. The walls had been painted in pink and cream colored stripes. The white crib was assembled and all of the sheets were already on it. He had a tiny cream colored teddy bear sitting in the corner of the crib. My white rocking chair was in there with a soft pink cushion on it. There was a large white bookcase with tons of children appropriate books on it. The hardwood floor was adorned with a large pink and cream area rug. He had put together the changing table, the baby's dresser and all the furniture. There was a huge castle built with pink blocks in the corner and toys everywhere. It looked like something out of a home decorating magazine.

"Oh Eric, how did you do it?"

"I had a bunch of this stuff already purchased and in storage. I just wanted to wait for the right moment to surprise you."

"You did an amazing job. It's beautiful."

"There is one more thing."

He reached into the crib and picked up a soft pink blanket. At the bottom of the blanket was our daughters name.

_Klara Asa Northman_

I reached out and took it from him, holding it to my chest. I had wanted to name our daughter after Eric's mother, but we had settled on using that as a middle name. We had both fell in love with the name Klara the second we came across it in a baby name book.

I sat the blanket back into the crib and turned to Eric. I was a puddle of emotion by that point. The room had turned out beautifully. I knew that Eric worked hard on it. I smiled when I imagined him painting, he knew I shouldn't be around the paint fumes so he did it himself. Thinking of his hard work reminded me of Pam's gift. I wanted to show Eric.

"Come look at what Pam gave me for the baby." We walked downstairs, Pam was sitting on the sofa watching t.v. I pointed to the box and Eric pulled it into the middle of the floor. He lifted out the rocking horse and marveled at it.

"This is amazing." He was running his fingers over the carved wood, admiring how beautifully made it was.

"It is beautiful Pam. Will you please tell me where you got this? I know you didn't buy it at Ikea."

"It was mine."

I gasped.

"Pam, don't you want it?"

"My parents died not to long after I was turned. I was able to go back and get a few things. This was one of them. It had been a gift from my grandparents. My parents kept it in case I ever had children. But since that is not the case, I can't think of anyone more deserving than you two."

I tried not to cry for her. Not to long ago I thought I'd never have children. Pam didn't always strike me as the maternal type, but I'm sure she would have been a wonderful mother. I sat down on the sofa next to her.

"Thank you, it's beautiful."

"You're welcome."

The baby started kicking up a storm the second I sat down. I grabbed Pam's hand and put it on my stomach. She held her hand there for a while then looked at Eric, arching one eyebrow.

"You're right. You've impregnated our Sookie with a tiny little ass-kicker." I laughed, but Eric was beaming with pride. We both knew she would be tough. She'd have all of our good qualities, and none of our weaknesses. She would be as strong as a vampire, but she wouldn't need blood. She'd also be able to walk in the sunlight. Then there is a matter of her fae heritage. I wasn't sure how that would play out. I knew fae's were prone to having twins. So when I found out that there was only one baby in my stomach, I had been thrilled. The thought of all of this gave me a headache. I brought my hands up to my head and started rubbing my temples.

"Thinking about her heritage again?"

"Mhmm. Just trying to figure everything out."

"You need to relax. Your working yourself into a frenzy over nothing." He swept his hand like having a human/vampire/fae baby happened every day. I started to argue back that it was nothing, but I didn't want to upset the baby. With Eric and I being blood bonded, we had no idea what that meant for our unborn daughter. We had no clue if she could feel our emotions or not, so I tried to stay calm.

"You're right. I'm worried for no reason. Can we go to bed now? I'm really tired."

"Sure." He stood and came to help me off the sofa. Pam put a gentle hand on my back to help push me forward. I had no idea how large our daughter was going to be, but by the size of my stomach, I would guess that she would be blessed with Eric's height.

Eric picked me up and carried me upstairs. I loved the way he did that. It reminded me of the time I used to have a nice figure. I wondered how long it would be before I ever fit back into a size 8 (okay, 10). Eric gently laid me on our bed and pulled the covers up around me. He climbed in next to me and gave me a kiss goodnight. I started to drift off. Listening to him speak in old Norse to our daughter. I always wondered how long he'd stay like that after I'd gone to sleep. My guess was all night. He was enthralled by the life inside me. I ran my fingers through his hair and slowly fell asleep.

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TBC. Plenty of good stuff to come! It won't all be this mushy and sappy.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M (possibly in later chapters)

Thank you for all the reviews. I try to respond to each one, but if I haven't responded please don't be offended. I just get super busy sometimes!

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"Sookie, Sookie, wake up."

"No."

I rolled over and rubbed my eyes. "I don't want to get up."

"We need to talk."

"What time is it?"

"It's 6pm."

"I can't believe I'm keeping vampire hours now."

I opened my eyes and rolled back over so I was facing him. "What?"

"I have to go."

"You woke me up to tell me that you need to run errands. Do you have a final death wish Northman?"

"No, I mean I need to leave, I've been summoned. You know how up in the air everything is with Louisianna right now, there is a huge meeting to figure out what we are going to do."

"You're leaving me? I'm 7 and a half months pregnant and your leaving me?"

"It won't be long, just a few days." He seemed upset that I wasn't taking this better. I on the other hand was furious.

"What if I go into labor early? Huh, what will you do then? You'll miss it."

"Sookie, I have to go."

I pushed myself into a sitting position then swung my legs over the bed. I was in a fit of rage at this point. I knew he'd never give up all the politics. I marched over to the closet, pulling out his black suit case, then pushing it at him.

"Then go."

He came up and tried to hug me, I shoved him back. "You want to leave, then leave. I see where your family stands compared to your stupid vampire politics."

"That's not even close to fair."

"No, what's not fair is leaving your very pregnant wife while you go off on some trip to God knows where."

"Mississippi." He thought he was helping, but his comments were just further infuriating me. I turned and pulled all his clothes off the hangers, tossing them on the floor. I opened up his underwear drawer and threw everything on the bed. I stormed out of the bedroom, stepping on his clothes as I went. I went into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I couldn't deal with this. I had been secretly scared of going into early labor, and now knowing that Eric was leaving me, it was making my fears worse. I heard him knock gently on the door, but I wasn't giving in.

"When are you leaving? And when did you find out?"

"I'm leaving at 1am and I found out about 15 minutes ago."

Well, at least he hadn't been keeping it from me. But that still wasn't helping. My raging hormones weren't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"I don't want you to go. I don't see why you have to, it's not like your the King of Louisianna."

I heard a sigh from the other end of the door.

"Someone put my name up for discussion."

"You said you didn't want to be King."

"I don't really, but it is something I must consider."

"Something that will put you even further away from your family. What did you think Eric? That you'd knock me up, then leave me and the baby while you moved away or something? Did you ever plan on being a father?"

I knew it was a low blow but I couldn't help it. Eric was furious, I could feel it. He shoved the door open, breaking the lock in the process.

"What did you say to me?" His normally beautiful blue eyes were cold as ice now.

"Just leave, if you want this so bad, then you do it without us."

"Typical Sookie, Run when things are less than perfect." Okay, that stung. I knew he was right, but something inside me would not let me back down and give in.

"Maybe I should have ran the first time I ever laid eyes on you. I knew you'd be nothing but trouble for me Eric." I stood up and pushed past him. I headed back to the bedroom and started throwing on clothes. He came in behind me and leaned in the doorway.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Bon Temps. I can't do this. You promised you'd put me first."

"Sookie, it's a meeting, I'm not leaving you. I'm going away for a few days."

"You know how much this pregnancy scares me. Don't you care at all?" I turned to him to see his reaction. He looked hurt. I threw on a simple dress and grabbed my coat.

"I'm leaving, have fun in Mississippi."

I stormed downstairs and grabbed my purse on the way out. Slipping into my SUV I glanced once at the house before taking off to Bon Temps.

~*~

A week later I was back in Eric's house. Pam had all but begged me to come home. Eric was still in Mississippi. We hadn't spoken since the night I stormed out. Sure he'd call and ask Pam if I was okay, but he wasn't speaking to me, and I wasn't speaking to him either. Poor Pam was stuck in the middle, I knew she was uncomfortable, but she did it.

"Why don't you just call him?"

"Why should I? He left me."

"Actually..."

"Pam, I went to Bon Temps for a few hours, he went to Mississippi to play King."

"Okay, you know I hate getting in the middle of this, but is this really what you want?"

"No, but I refuse to be second to his little politcal goals."

"Maybe he's doing this for you and the baby. Think about it, your giving birth to a very special child. His place as the King will be a little extra security for you both."

"Then why doesn't he just talk to me about these things? He just tells me and expects me to fall in line. I just can't do this." I stood up out of the kitchen chair and started heading up the stairs.

"Sookie!" Pam let out a terrified scream, I turned to look at her. She reached over and grabbed my nightgown to hold it up to me. The bottom was covered in blood. I reached a hand down, it came up bloody.

"Oh my god I'm losing the baby."

Pam wasn't even listening to me. She had the good sense to call 911. Within minutes we were on our way to the hospital. Somewhere along the road, I passed out, holding Pam's hand.

~*~

When I woke up I was staring at the face of a doctor.

"Mrs. Northman, are you with us now?"

"My baby..."

"She's fine. We did an ultrasound, her heartbeat is strong. It looks like you have a mild case of Placenta Previa."

"What's that?"

"Basically, the placenta is covering part of your cervix. You're going to be in the hospital for a day or two so we can make sure you both are heathy. After that you need to be on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy."

"But, she's okay, she'll be okay?"

"She will be just fine. Are you up for visitors? You have quite a group of people waiting. I told them one at a time though."

"Yes, visitors would be nice. Thank you."

The doctor gave me a reassuring pat on the arm and sent in the first visitor. It was Pam. She looked like she had been crying, and trying very hard to hide it. She sat down in a chair beside me and held my hand like it would break.

"I'm not made of glass."

"The doctor told us what's wrong. I'm just glad you are both okay."

"I'm on bed rest once I leave the hospital."

"I know, he gave me strict orders. You are not to be up running around or anything. You have to stay put."

I patted her hand with my free hand, I felt tears well in my eyes. Eric wasn't here, I knew something would happen while he was gone. I let a few tears roll down my cheeks. I was going to have to do this without him.

"Sookie, I'm going to send in the shifter next, okay?"

"Mhmm."

She stood up and gave me a kiss on the head, no sooner had she left than Sam came in. He looked scared for me. I explained everything to him, then he sent in Amelia, after Amelia came Bill. I certainly was surprised to see him.

"Sookie.."

"I'm surprised you came. We haven't really been on speaking terms since you found out."

"Well, having Eric text message me the news wasn't really how I'd expected to find out. Still, you know I care about you, I wouldn't let you be here alone, although that doesn't seem to be a problem."

"I'm lucky. I thought I lost her."

Bill didn't even have a chance to respond. He shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

"I have to go." He stood and bolted out of the room. I was alone again. I laid my head back against the pillow and started crying. I couldn't believe I was having to do this without Eric. I rested my hand on my stomach and tried to calm myself, I just couldn't. I had been awful to Eric, I let my pride and my hormones get in the way of seeing that he was just trying to take care of us. And now I pushed him away. Who knew if he'd ever come back.

I closed my eyes and tried to find some inner calm. Suddenly there was a head laying on my stomach. My eyes flew open.

"Eric!"

"I came as soon as I heard." I could tell he had been crying. "I swear I'll never leave you again." He lifted his head to mine and planted kisses all over my face.

"I was wrong Eric, you were just trying to protect us. I didn't mean anything I said. You're a great father, I know you would never leave me."

"What you said really hurt me, but lets just leave it in the past, we were both wrong."

I slid over on the bed so he could lay next to me. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers around mine.

"She's okay? You're okay?"

"We are both fine. Did Pam tell you what happened?"

"The doctor explained everything to me. It seems that you are not allowed out of bed." He didn't even bother to make a sexual joke out of it.

"Bed rest until delivery."

I snuggled close to Eric and rested my head against his chest. "Stay with me until dawn?"

"Of course, my love, anything you want."

For the first time in a week, I managed to sleep a deep, peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M (possibly in later chapters)

Here is the sequel to Dead and Dating.

A/N: This chapter jumps pretty far ahead into the future. I was torn about it, but it's what's best for the storyline. But don't worry, I will be writing in flashbacks of Eric with the baby. It's too good to pass up. Here is were we start getting to the plot of the story too, so, I hope everyone is in for the long haul.

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"Daddy!" I had barely opened the front door when Klara went bursting through to run to Eric. He was sitting in the dining room typing away on his laptop. Eric broke into a huge grin when Klara jumped onto his lap. Klara was the spitting image of Eric. She had beautiful blond curly hair and stunning blue eyes. She was tall for her age and extremely smart.

I let my mind wander over the past years. Klara was now 5. Her birth had been nothing short of a miracle. She was born the same night that Eric was made King of Louisiana. There was a huge ball thrown by the King of Mississippi in celebration. Eric looked handsome in his black tux, and I had been wearing a beautiful silver colored gown that had been altered to fit my huge baby bump. I had been thrilled just to be out of the house. The doctor had me on bed rest for almost 3 months, I had gotten special permission to attend the ball. So, of course, I gave birth that night. The party was winding down when my water broke. Instead of giving birth at home with our midwife, I ended up at the hospital. By the time I got there it was too late to get any sort of drugs. I have fond memories of screaming at Eric that he would never touch me again. But at the end of it all, I gave birth to our little miracle. Perfect in every way.

Eric was amazing with her. Although he only changed one diaper the entire time she was a baby, he had the night time feedings down. Not to mention the interest he had taken in the breast pump. The first time I used it he laughed at me so hard he almost cried. I always made sure there were bottles of milk ready in the fridge for night time feedings. I had even taught him how to use the bottle warmer. Some of my favorite memories involve waking up at 3am to see Eric sitting up in bed, holding our daughter, smiling at her adoringly and feeding her a bottle.

He could deny her nothing. If he thought I was his weakness, Klara was even more so. I had to fight hard to keep her from being spoiled. If she even looked at something he tried to buy it for her. That's how we got the huge swing set and jungle gym that was now in his newly fenced in back yard. It had taken quite a bit to convince him that we did not need a dog, when Klara saw a puppy at the pet store in the mall earlier this week.

I snapped back to the present, I couldn't help but smile while Klara told Eric all about her first day at school. Surprisingly, not much had changed over the years. Eric still looked as good as he did the day we first met, and I actually found myself looking younger. The regular doses of Eric's blood had practically reversed the aging process for me. The only physical difference was my new shorter hair. I found it much easier to deal with then my long curls had been. I had went to the hairstylist and they gave me an ultra cute bob. Eric had looked heartbroken when I came home with my hair much shorter, but he grew to love it.

"Mommy is letting me take ballet." Eric looked at her then arched an eyebrow at me. I just shrugged, she was a little girl, I wanted her to live as normal as she possibly could. Well, normal for having a vampire as a father and a telepath as a mom. Thankfully she wasn't gifted from what I could tell. She wasn't reading any minds, she enjoyed regular food, had no blood lust, and was comfortable in sun.

All in all, the world was looking up. Vampires were more accepted, even the Weres and Shifters had come out. That wasn't to say there wasn't the occasional hate crime, but we were long past the days of the FotS. Vampire politics were however, the same. Eric was never gone for too long, but we had a couple of close calls with rogue vampires trying to snatch Klara, hoping she possessed as much power as her parents.

I sighed and sat Klara's backpack down on a chair at the dining room table. Just as I was about to get her to sit down and practice her letters someone came in and snatched her off Eric's lap.

"Aunt Pammy." Pam swung Klara around and then propped her up on her hip. I had to smile, Pam was great to Klara. I was worried about how Pam would be with kids. But it was a fleeting worry, because I had been right all those years ago, when she gave me the rocking horse, she would have made a great mom.

"Mommy is letting me take ballet." That earned me the same look from Pam, that Eric had given me. I laughed and shook my head in response.

"Ballet?"

"She is a little girl, I want her to be normal."

"Okay, dinner, then practicing your letters, then bath and bed." Klara gave me a look, she had gotten that one from her father.

"I don't wanna, I wanna stay up like daddy." She huffed and crossed her arms in clear defiance.

"Just like your mother." Eric mumbled that to himself but I could hear him just fine.

"Klara you have school tomorrow, bed early tonight, maybe on Friday you can stay up later."

~*~

A few hours later I threw myself down on the sofa next to Eric. Klara had eaten dinner, practiced her letters, played outside with Eric, threw a fit about getting a bath, took a bath, and then Eric read her a story until she fell asleep. Eric's story time allowed me to take a nice long shower.

Eric was sitting at the end of the sofa watching the news. I laid my head in his lap then sprawled out on the rest of the sofa.

"Tired?"

"You have no idea."

"We stopped over at Sam's on the way home." Sam and I were still great friends. Shortly after Eric and I married, Sam met a woman who was also a shifter. She ended up pregnant with Sam's child. His son Cody was born 3 days before Klara. However it was just Sam and Cody now, Cody's mother ended up leaving Sam, after deciding she didn't want to be a mother.

"Klara and Sam's son had a play date."

"We need to talk Sookie" Oh, that couldn't be good.

"About..."

"They King of Nevada, he now has he sights set on Louisiana. He feels he has a legitimate claim to it, considering it was originally part of Felipe's territory."

"But, you're king, he can't just come snatch it away from you."

"He can, by force, and he will try. If you think Felipe was a terror you haven't met King Lancio."

"What do we need to do?"

"I'm sending you and Klara away."

"Like hell you are."

"You'd put your daughters life in danger? It's already been decided, Sookie, this is for your own good. I'm surprised the shifter didn't tell you anything. He is leaving for Ohio. You and Klara will go with him. I've already arranged it with him."

"No." I could see the anger and the sadness in his eyes.

"Sookie, please."

"I will not leave you. We will send Klara with Sam, he will take good care of her until we get everything straightened out."

"And what if we don't? Have you ever thought our luck might just run out." His face was twisted with anger. "I will not allow you to go into battle with me. You can't be reckless anymore, we have a child."

"I'm doing this for her. I will not run from my home, from my husband. I will fight with you and we will both be here when she comes home."

"You don't know what you're doing, you're going to get yourself killed. This isn't a joke Sookie, it will be an all out war. Don't think you will be spared simply because you are a telepath."

"You can either prepare me, or not. But I will not sit by while my friends and loved ones fight. If anything happens to us, Klara will be safe with Sam. He will raise her properly."

I had been staring at the floor the whole time we were arguing. Now I risked looking into Eric's eyes. Red tears dripped down his face. I knew it was killing him, but I couldn't let him do this without me.

"Sam leaves tomorrow evening, I suggest we send Klara with him then."

I couldn't find any words that sounded appropriate for the situation, so I curled up in his arms and cried. Tomorrow I would have to send away our daughter and I'd have to pray that Eric and I came would live through this.

~*~

The next day Klara was thrilled she didn't have to go to school. I told her that she was going on a special trip with Sam and that she would get to play with Cody every day. I packed up suit cases full of her clothes. I reached up into the top of her closet and pulled down the blanket Eric had bought before she was born. I sunk to my knees and buried my head in it crying. Was I really making the right decision? I tried to pull myself together before Klara came upstairs and got a glimpse of her mommy crying her eyes out. I packed her blanket in the suit case and then packed up a bunch of her toys in another. I had no idea how long this would take, but I wanted to make sure that if we didn't make it, Klara had all of her things.

I went into me and Eric's bedroom and picked up a framed picture off of the dresser. It was a picture of us holding Klara when she was first born. I reached into a cabinet next to the bed and pulled out our family photo album, all of our happy memories, I tried not to cry again and returned to Klara's room to pack it with everything else.

Eric woke up a half an hour later and joined Klara downstairs to watch some cartoons. When it was time to leave I almost got sick. I just wanted to take my family and run, but I knew that wasn't an option, not for Eric, he was too loyal to his people.

An hour later we were at Sam's home. I loaded all of Klara's suit cases into a truck that Sam rented to take them to Ohio, then went into the house.

"Who's going to run Merlotte's until you come back?"

"Tray Dawson is going to take over. I trust him."

"And you'll come back as soon as this is all over?"

"Of course. You know I'll take care of her." Sam glanced at Klara. Cody was chasing her around the living room. They were laughing and giggling like children should. I handed Sam a stack of papers.

"If anything happens to us.." I choked back a sob. "If anything happens to us, we've left Klara everything. I've signed everything over to you until she turns 18. I know you will take good care of her." When I couldn't hold back my tears anymore Sam threw his arms around me and rubbed my back.

"I swear on my life she will be taken care of." I just nodded. Eric reached out, and in a rare moment, shook Sam's hand. Deep down Eric knew that everything Sam said was true.

"Klara, come give Mommy and Daddy a hug, so you can go on vacation with Cody and Sam." She stopped mid chase and ran over to Eric. He picked her up and held her close. "Be good. I love you." I heard him whisper softly to her. He turned and handed her to me. It was a struggle to hold her since she had gotten so tall over the past year, but I held her close.

"Now, mommy is going to have her cell phone. You know the number and so does Sam. I want you to call me every night before you go to bed. If mommy doesn't answer, it's just because I'm asleep, but I promise I'll try to talk to you as much as I can. Remember to be a big girl, mommy and daddy will be here when you get back. Okay?"

"I love you Mommy." She gave me a big kiss on my cheek. I struggled to put her down, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to hold on to her and never let go.

"I love you Daddy."

"Okay, time to go guys." Sam took a hold of Klara's hand and walked her out to the truck. He turned to face Eric.

"Take care of her Eric."

"With my life."

Sam ran back to lock up his trailer and take one last look at me. "I'll see you soon. We are staying with relatives of mine in Ohio, you have the number. Call me if anything happens. And if I don't hear from you, I'll call Alcide to find out what happened. He's informed me that if you are going into this, so are the Shreveport Weres. You are lucky to have such close alliances." He was right. The Weres never got involved with Vampire matters, but it seemed that Eric had called in a favor or two without my knowledge. After all these years I was still a friend of the Shreveport pack. I knew it was deeper than that though, if Lancio took over, it would undoubtably end up causing trouble for the Weres.

Sam looked at me with deep sadness in his eyes. He wrapped me in his arms and hugged me again. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight.

"Love you Sookie."

"You too Sam."

I watched with tears in my eyes as he pulled out and left. He was taking my life with him, I just hoped Eric and I lived to see her come home. She waved until they were out of sight and so did I. Once they were really gone I turned to Eric.

"What now?"

He wrapped his arms around me and laid his head on top of mine.

"Now, we go to war."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

A/N: This one is longer than most chapters. Though a huge bulk of the plot is taken care of in this chapter, do not fear, there will be more. We all know our favorite telepath and viking can't stay out of trouble for too long. This chapter contains VIOLENCE. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Also, many of you have asked about what Bill has been up to for the past 5 years. Do not worry, all will be explained in the next chapter.

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During the drive back to Shreveport I was too upset to talk and Eric couldn't be unglued from his cell phone. Thankfully he had let me drive so at least he could concentrate. We were just about home when he finally hung up his phone.

"Turn around, go back to Bon Temps."

"Where are we going?"

"To see your witch friend, I have an idea."

I hadn't been back to my old house in a while. I still owned it, but Amelia and Tray were living there and paying me monthly rent. I pulled down the familiar gravel road, the one Eric had given me so long ago. It felt like another lifetime. When I got to the front door I almost opened it without knocking before I thought about what I was doing. After a few moments Amelia answered the door.

"Sookie!" She threw her arms around me and pulled me close for a hug. "Where's Klara?" That was all it took for me to burst into tears.

"Can we come in, I'll explain."

Amelia moved out of the way and let us in. I walked into the dining room and slumped into a chair. I put my head in my hands and cried while I explained to Amelia everything that was going on. Eric stood behind me, his hands running through my short hair and down the back of my exposed neck. When I was done sobbing I glanced up to see Amelia in tears too. Eric cleared his throat to get our attention.

"I have a plan, but I'll need your help." He looked at Amelia intently, I wasn't sure if he was trying to glamour her, or trying to figure out if she was trustworthy enough to hear his plan.

"I'll do whatever I can." Eric must have decided that she was able to be trusted, because he started in on his plan.

"The last time we had a take over everyone gathered in Fangtasia, it made them an easy target. Lancio is not the smartest King, just the most ruthless. He will bet on us gathering there again. We are going to give him exactly what he wants. I know you are able to recreate scenes, but can you recreate sounds?"

"I think I know a way, what is the plan?"

"Lancio's group will surround Fangtasia, they will without a doubt, break the doors down and go on a rampage. But what if we aren't in there? Then they would be trapped inside, giving us the advantage." He paused for a minute to give Amelia time to digest everything. "I want you to make it sound like we are in there. Once he is outside, he will undoubtedly listen for us talking inside, to confirm that we are there. That would be a perk of vampire hearing, we could hear a pin drop. However, I want him to think we are in there and charge in. In reality, we are going to be far enough away that they don't see us, but close enough that the second they enter the bar, we can attack."

"Your baiting them in."

"Yes."

"How much time do I have?"

"I have information that they will be here tomorrow night, but won't be able to attack until after midnight. I have already made it clear to the area vampires that they are to meet me at my home as soon as night falls. We will gather there and move forward."

"I can go over during the day and get everything set up, I will have to put the sound on sort of an auto loop"  
Eric reached in his pocket and produced a key. "This will get you inside, be careful, I want you to take Tray with you. Call Sookie when you have completed the spell that way we know everything is set up."

"Okay."

I stood up to leave, but not before grabbing Amelia and hugging her to me. "When this is all over, I swear we will spend more time together."

"I know Sook."

We said our goodbyes and left the house. I stood outside for a minute staring at it, sad that everything happened the way it did. I loved my family, but I wish it had come about differently. Eric slipped his arm around me.

"I know you regret how we came together, but I hope you never regret the fact that we did."

"Never." I whispered back to him.

"We need to go to Bill's, are you going to be okay?"

I shuddered at the thought. I hadn't spoken to Bill in 5 years. He was always out of town traveling to work on his database and he avoided me when he wasn't. The last time I spoke to Bill was at the hospital the day after Klara was born. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to the day.

_"I'm glad you and Klara are well." Bill stood next to my hospital bed looking down with some uncertainty. Eric had left the room to go get me something to eat, I was starving._

_"Thank you for helping get me to the hospital." Bill nodded and looked at Klara._

_"Her hair and eyes are his, but the beauty is all you. She will be lovely, like her mother."_

_"Thank you, but I think she will favor Eric the most."_

_"I'm going away to Africa for a while. I'm not sure when I'll be back."_

_"When you get back, you should come visit. I know we haven't always had the best relationship, but I am your friend."_

_I looked up at him and held Klara out. "Hold her."_

_Bill looked down and touched her tiny hand with his finger. "I can't Sookie, it's just too much."_

_I brought my hands back down and cradled Klara to me. "Bill, promise you'll keep in touch."_

_"Always."_

_He leaned down and gave me a small kiss on my cheek, then he was gone._

I hadn't heard from him since. I felt Eric gently shake me. "Sookie, you okay?"

I shook my head to wake myself up and looked over at Eric. He looked concerned for me. "I'm fine, just thinking."

"You okay to go?"

"Yeah, of course, let's go."

Eric and I walked through the cemetery and over to Bill's house. I dragged my feet once we got there, scared of seeing Bill after all this time. Eric knocked on the door. Bill answered and let out a little gasp when he saw me standing there.

"Sookie."

"Hi Bill."

"Your hair..." He let his voice trail off like he was going to continue but he didn't. He started to move like he was going to hug me but then glanced at Eric first. I shot Eric a look and hugged Bill to me. Eric and I were married with a child, he had no reason to worry about a hug between Bill and I. If he had been worried, he sure didn't show it.

Bill untangled himself from my hug and turned to Eric. Bowing a bit. "Eric."

"Bill. We have a plan to discuss."

"Why is Sookie still here?"

"It's Sookie, why do you think?"

Bill looked at Eric and then turned to me. "You refused to go, you sent Klara with Sam and stayed here to fight." He looked at me. After all this time he genuinely seemed to be amazed. "You've been doing this since the night I met you, putting your self in danger where you don't belong."

I held my hand up for him to stop talking. "Bill, this is my family, my husband, my daughter, and my friends. I do belong. I never fit in with regular humans, my gift made me an outcast. I belong in the supe world, I always have, and I always will."

"Does Klara share your gift?"

"Not that we've noticed but who knows. She's only five." I pulled a picture out of my purse and handed it to Bill. It was a picture of Klara running around outside in the sun. I remember the day exactly, Eric had just bought her the swing set and jungle gym for her 5th birthday.

"She is beautiful, just like I said she'd be Sookie." He stared at the picture for a few more moments then handed it back to me. "You both are lucky."

After that everyone fell silent until Bill invited us inside. We sat down in his living room as Eric explained our plan to him. He seemed to agree that Eric's idea would be our best shot at taking care of Lancio. After the details were worked out Eric and I were leaving to head back to Shreveport, I turned and looked at Bill one last time before I left. He put his hand over his heart like he had done at Portia and Andy's double wedding so long ago. I felt a little misty eyed. I didn't love Bill in that way anymore, but he was a friend, and I was scared to lose anyone close to me. Eric must have sensed my feelings through the bond and he reached over to hug me to him as we walked away.

~*~

The drive from Bon Temps to Shreveport was dead silent. Eric wasn't on his cell phone at all and I was too sad to speak.

When we pulled up to our house Eric ran picked me up out of the car and carried me into the house. He didn't even bother to flick the lights on, we headed straight to bed. Once in our bedroom he laid me down softly on our silk sheets. He climbed in bed behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I couldn't fight the tears back anymore, I broke down crying. Sobbing and shaking in his arms. He didn't say anything, he just held me and kiss my tears away as they fell.

I heard my phone ringing and jumped up to answer it. I almost tore the phone in half I flipped it open so hard.

"Klara?"

"Mommy! Your not asleep."

"No honey, I'm awake with daddy." I curled up next to Eric and put her on speakerphone.

"Klara say hi to daddy, he can hear you."

"Hi daddy!"

"Hello angel. Did you have a nice trip?" I could feel Eric's sadness, it was a perfect reflection of my own.

"Sam got me and Cody ice cream after dinner. I gotta go mommy, Cody wants to play chutes and ladders."

"Okay, we love you."

"I love you mommy and daddy."

"Sweetie, put Sam on the phone."

I laughed when I heard her sit the phone down and yell for Sam. I could only hope he wasn't sick of her yet. Let's just say our little angel didn't know what an inside voice was.

"Hey, how are you two holding up?"

"We're fine Sam, we have a plan. How are you holding up?"

"The kids are great, we got a hotel room for the night because they were getting tired, of course as soon as we got here that wore off and now they want to run around and play. I think it will be a long night."

"You plan on getting to Ohio tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, with any luck. Are you sure that you are okay?"

"I'm fine, just adjusting. I'm not sure what time you guys will get there tomorrow, but please give me a call. We won't be leaving until after dark. I just want to talk to all of you, just in case." I sighed and turned to Eric, the weight of everything we were going to do finally hit me.

"Just be safe Sookie, we love you."

"You too Sam."

I hung up the phone and sat it on the nightstand. I turned back to Eric. He pulled me close and pressed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around him, I just wanted to feel him, if this was our last night together, I wanted to be as close to him as possible. Eric held my head in his hands and pulled away, he ran his fingertips over my face like he was trying to trace the memory into his mind. He brushed my hair behind my ears and kissed my forehead, then my nose, then my lips. I sighed into this mouth and ran my hands over his back. He slid his hands down and gently tugged my t-shirt off of me. I laid back on the bed and pulled him on top of me, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt as he kissed the side of my neck. Finally, he raised up on his knees and yanked his shirt off. He slid his jeans off in one swift motion. Typical Eric, he had gone commando. I started pulling at my jeans but he helped me out of them, and then my bra and panties. When all of our clothes were on the floor Eric leaned above me, taking in my body.

"I want to remember this, just in case."

I put my fingers up to his lips. "Shh."

He leaned his head to my breast and began to pull on my nipple a bit. I arched my back and moaned in response. His hands slipped down between my legs to see if I was ready for him. I writhed on the bed, trying to push his fingers deeper. He finally slid his fingers out and settled between my hips. He gently pushed into me, pulling all the way out, then slowly pushing back in. I dug my nails into his arms and begged for release. I looked up into his eyes and allowed myself to be swept away. He leaned down and bit my neck as we both climaxed. The feeling of him sucking blood from me was too much to handle. I came a second time before I had even fully recovered from the first.

Eric slid out of me and laid back on the bed pulling me close to him.

"I love you Sookie. I hope this wasn't the last time."

"I love you too Eric, So do I."

"I need to ask you a serious question. And I need you to think before you answer. Because I will do whatever you tell me to."

"Okay."

He took in a totally unnecessary breath. "If you are injured, and it appears you will die, do you want me to turn you?"

"I-I.." I fumbled for the words. I had never thought about it before.

"I don't know Eric. I never wanted to be a vampire. Who would care for Klara during the day?"

"Who would do it if you were truly dead?"

"Good point, but I just, I don't know."

"Think it over. Please tell me before we leave tomorrow. I will respect whatever decision you make."

I rolled over to face him and snuggled into his chest. I wrapped my arms around my Viking, and cried myself to sleep.

~*~

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I squinted at the bright light of the cell phone shining in our blacked out room. It was 1:30pm and it was Amelia.

"Hello."

"Everything is taken care of, we did a test run and everything works great."

"I'm glad your okay, I'll call you when this is all over."

"I hope you do Sookie, please be careful."

"I will, be safe."

I hung up the phone and laid back in the bed, not even two seconds later it was ringing again.

"Hello."

"Hey Sook, it's Sam. I just wanted to let you know that we are here. Klara is sleeping, do you want me to wake her so you can talk to her?"

"No, let her sleep. I'll call her tomorrow."

"Your being optimistic."

"I know, I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me later."

"Me too."

"Bye Sam."

"Bye Sook."

I hung up the phone again, determined not to cry. I climbed out of bed and headed for the shower. I turned the hot water on full blast and let it pour down on me. I tried to sooth my aching muscles and relax. I knew being stressed out would do me no good. I got out of the shower and headed to the bedroom. What does one wear to a battle? I decided to dress for comfort and let Eric tell me if I needed to change. I rummaged in the closet and found a pair of old jeans that I didn't care about, and a black fitted t-shirt. I ran a brush over my hair and was suddenly glad I cut it all off. This way people couldn't grab it so easily.

I ran downstairs and fixed myself lunch then flipped on the news and sat quietly, waiting for all hell to break loose.

~*~

Eric was the first one awake at 6pm. He came downstairs and handed me a bag. It didn't look like it was going to be a present I enjoyed. I opened it up and looked inside to find two silver tipped stakes.

"Use them on anyone who comes near you."

"Eric.."

"If you're going to go, you have to be protected."

"The answer to your question last night, is no. I can't do that. I know Sam would help you take care of her. I don't want to be a vampire Eric.

His eyes were dark with sadness, and maybe a little anger. "I understand. I promise I won't turn you."

"Thank you." I clasped my hand over his and leaned my head back against the sofa.

Pam was the next one awake. She sat on the living room floor and stared at the fire in silence. Bill showed up a few moments after. I took one look at me and shook his head. One by one vampires filled the house. By the time all the vamps showed up, they were all crammed against each other in the living room. I heard a knock on the door, when I opened it up, Alcide was standing outside with his pack.

One by one they crowded into Eric's house. There wasn't room to breath, thankfully half our guests didn't need to. Just as everyone settled down Eric stood up.

"Tonight we go to war. King Lancio wants what is not his. He wants our state, he wants our fealty, and" Eric glanced at me. "He wants our families." He turned to the Weres and continued.

"This is not just a vampire's battle. Lancio wants control of every supe in the state of Louisiana. He would send his minions to your homes, he would take your families, kill your pack members, and enslave all who he deems too valuable to kill. We cannot allow this to happen. I've came up with a plan."

"Lancio and his entourage are expecting us to gather in Fangtasia. I have a reliable source that says they will gather there at midnight. His plan is to trap us inside so we have no where to run. Luckily I have access to a very skilled Witch. Tonight, when they go to Fangtasia, they will hear us inside, they will hear us talking about what to do. However, we will not be in Fangtasia. The Witch has recreated an audio of Bill, Pam, myself, and Sookie talking. When they hear this, they will assume we are inside, and charge."

"However, we will be lurking in the shadows outside of Fangtasia. We will be out of sight, but not out of reach. When they charge in, we will give them a moment, then on my command we charge. Thus trapping them, in their own trap." I watched in awe of my viking giving his battle speech. He must have been a great warrior in his first life. Suddenly he slammed his fist on the wall. "We will not stop until they are all dead. I want to see Lancio's head on the end of sword before we declare victory."

He looked around at all of the people gathered in our home. Pam was busy passing out a small map. "I've taken the liberty of designating where you all should be. I want everyone in their places by 10pm. We will wait them out. Follow the map as if your life depends on it and do not speak at all. Because if one of them should see or hear us, it will all be over. Be safe, be smart. After the battle I want everyone who is still alive to return here. Should anyone be missing, we will form a search party and come looking for you. It is my hope, that I will see every one of you back here in this house this evening."

Eric looked down at me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Everyone, scatter now, and be in your places by 10pm." Everyone started filing out of the door until it was just Eric, Pam, Bill, and me. Eric pulled a box out from beside the fireplace and handed each one of us a small little rectangular electronic device.

"This is a gps tracker, that way I will be able to find any of you, should you be lost."

"Pam, I have stationed Sookie with you. I will be at the front of the charge. Don't you dare let her out of your sight."

"Of course." She bowed to him but was looking at me. I knew she'd protect me with her life if she had too.

I slipped my gps tracker into my pants pocket and grabbed the stakes out of the bag. I slipped them in the back of my jeans. I looked ready for war, but I wasn't sure I was truly ready. I was shaking and scared of losing everyone I loved.

~*~

I was hunched down in an abandoned warehouse near Fangtasia. I slid over to a window and risked looking out briefly. There were tons of men surrounding the bar. Their leader stood at the front door. He was tall and regal, and he looked exactly how I would imagine a King of his nature. He was terrifying to look at. He leaned his weight on a sword and pressed his ear to the door of Fangtasia. When he turned back around he was smiling. I knew our moment was coming and my stomach was in knots. Pam was holding my hand and taking in the scene with me. The King turned and smiled before yelling "Now" as loudly as he could. I held my breath as they broke down the door to Fangtasia. They flooded the inside, then I heard another voice yelling "Now". It was my husband, his voice came over the small walkie talkie that Pam had strapped to her side. Pam grabbed me off the floor.

"Now or never."

I didn't say anything as she bolted out the door. I was right behind her. We sprinted to Fangtasia and got there at the same time as everyone else. Before Lancio's group knew what hit him, we were in the door behind him. Eric's group outnumbered Lancio's, we had them surrounded. That didn't stop them from fighting. As we all thinned out to start attacking, a large vamp grabbed me by my throat and tried to bite me, I whipped the stake out from behind me and jammed it into his heart, making sure it sunk in deep before I yanked it back out. I didn't bother stopping to watch him disintegrate before my eyes.

The next vamp to attack me was a smaller female vamp. She must have been young because she could barely control her blood lust. I took advantage of that to it's fullest. While she was busy staring at my neck and lunging at me, I kicked her in the stomach. As soon as she dropped, she felt the sharp end of a stake stabbing into her. I was shaking with anger at these people attacking my family and my friends. If I didn't know any better, I would think that I was giving in to my blood lust, staking any enemy that was foolish enough to get near me.

Just as I finished staking my fourth vamp my eyes caught a glimpse of Eric. Lancio had him on his back and was lifting his sword over his head to stab him. I screamed and ran after Lancio. I pounced on him like a tiger, knocking him to the ground in surprise. He easily pushed back up and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off my feet easily. I struggled and kicked as he tightened his grip. Just as I was about to black out Pam chopped off his arm in one clean slice. I dropped to the ground and held back the urge to vomit. I pushed myself to my feet, absolutely shaking with rage. Before I could think about it, I snatched the sword he had dropped, and sliced his head clean off. It made a sound that I will never forget, so long as I live. But I couldn't be focused on him anymore, I turned myself around to see the rest of the battle. Lancio's group had pretty much been wiped out. There was blood everywhere. A few fights still lingered, but they were quickly resolved. What had felt like 5 seconds of war, was more like 30 minutes. Bodies laid broken on the floor. I noticed some from Alcide's pack dead, some of our vamps. I looked around for people I knew. Pam was helping Eric stand, it looked like he had a broken leg. Alcide was trying to gather the bodies of his pack members so he could give them a proper burial. Bill was leaning up against the bar trying to control his blood lust.

Amelia and Tray were helping Alcide. Wait, Amelia!? I ran over to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"We couldn't leave you guys to do this alone."

"You could have gotten killed."

"So could you."

I threw my arms around her and held her tight. "You stupid stupid witch, I love you."

"You too Sookie." She untangled herself from me and looked me over.

"You look bad, I think a hospital visit is in order."

"Huh?" I didn't even feel anything. Amelia reached up and touched my forehead, pulling back a hand covered in blood.

"You took a blow to the head, your neck is bleeding, and your already turning black and blue."

"I'll heal her." I heard Eric's deep voice behind me. He was struggling to stand with one broken leg but he still managed to slip his arms around me and nuzzle his head into my hair.

"You were amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better warrior. I love you, we made it, we are safe."

I turned to him and leaned my head against his chest. Then I blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been super busy. Warning Bill Lovers: Bill gets pretty testy with Sookie, just remember, it's been 5 years and a lot has changed. Sookie has Eric's baby and I'm sure is a little bit more than bitter. With that said...please don't stake me!

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When I opened my eyes again I was alone in my bedroom. I ran my hands over the cool silk beneath me and struggled to sit up. I was in a world of pain and it only got worse as the memories of the battle flooded my mind. I had chopped off someone's head, not to mention the vamps that I staked. I felt sick to my stomach as I remembered the sound Lancio made as his head came off. I had been in a fit of rage unlike I have ever known. I truthfully didn't even know I had it in me.

Taking a look around, I realized that Eric wasn't in bed and the room was empty. Swinging my legs off the bed and onto the cool hardwood floor I resolved to stand and make my way downstairs. That turned out to be easier said than done. I was limping, I must have taken a worse beating than I remembered. As I made my way downstairs I stole a glance in the mirror and was horrified. I looked like death warmed over. My hair had blood in it, my face was scratched and bruised, and I felt dirty. I sighed at my reflection and continued to the living room. When I got down there, Bill was sitting on the sofa with a bottle of True Blood. He turned to face me and looked startled by my appearance.

"Sookie, you do not look well."

"Go figure." I was trying not to be sarcastic, but I felt as gross as I looked and I just wanted to be with my husband. "Where's Eric?"

"He had some details to work out, to make sure everything goes smoothly. The King of Mississippi will be taking over Nevada as well. The state was offered to Eric, but he didn't want it."

"How long have I been out?"

"A little less than 24 hours. It's about 11pm." Feeling the weight of everything hit me at once, I slumped into a chair and curled up in a little ball.

"Eric's leg?"

"Healed while he slept. He was going to heal you too, but he didn't want to wake you." He paused for a moment and looked at me thoughtfully. It was like he was trying to decide if he wanted to tell me more. "Sookie, everyone who was at Fangtasia tonight, they owe you their lives."

I snorted. "The battle was pretty much won by them, I just took care of Lancio. I only managed that because Pam distracted him from strangling me."

"If any of us killed Lancio, there would be consequences, regardless of the reason. You have come a long way from the innocent telepath I met so many years ago."

I started feeling wildly uncomfortable with this conversation. Time for a new one. "Where have you been the past 5 years?"

"Africa for a while, then France, all over really."

"That is not what I meant and you know it. You've been back in Bon Temps for almost 3 years, why haven't you come to see me?"

"I've loved you for a long time, the sight of you playing mom to Eric's child. It was just too much. It should have been my life you were in, not his."

"Bill, We can have this discussion over and over, but it doesn't change anything. I love Eric. Try and tell me you haven't found anyone else worthy of your affections?"

It was Bill's turn to look uncomfortable now. "There was one woman in France. I think I did love her. We met at a meeting to discuss the marketing strategy for the European database. She was human, and absolutely stunning. We went to dinner, we went dancing. I stayed in her home with her, instead of the hotel. But I found myself constantly comparing her to you."

His eyes were boring holes in the floor by this point in his story. "She was just like you, in looks, and in attitude. She threw herself into the middle of vampire politics when she didn't have to. She was fiercly loyal. One night while we were talking about our past, I told her about you. She put two and two together and figured out that I wasn't in love with her, I was in love with how she reminded me of you."

He looked up at me for a second, then back down at the floor. "She was right. I thought I had ruined you for humans. But it turns out that it was you who ruined me."

"That's not fair Bill, you can't blame me for this."

"No, but it's not fair to expect me to be over here playing nice to a child that should have been mine."

When I looked into his eyes they were hazed over with anger. "I don't know how you managed to convince Pam to behave the way she does around that child, but if she had any sense she'd be appalled too. You and Eric having a baby is unnatural. It goes against everything he is. Klara will be in constant danger because he will never give up the politics. If you think he will, than you are a fool."

His voice softened a little bit. "I should have been the father of your child, because unlike Eric, I would give up everything."

I was just about reduced to tears when I heard a growl from behind me. Eric had walked in during Bill's tirade.

"Compton, out now, before I send you to your final death. You will not speak to Sookie in that way ever again." He growled again and Bill had enough common sense to look scared. He bowed and headed for the door. Once he was gone I was being lifted off of the chair, and being settled on Eric's lap on the sofa.

"He's an idiot. Don't listen to him." Eric whispered in my ear and pulled me closer. "You've had a rough couple of days. Would a bath make you feel better?" I was still too upset to talk, so I just nodded.

"Your leg is better." I snuggled up to Eric's chest as he carried me upstairs.

"Yes, I wanted to heal you too, but you were sleeping and I didn't want to disturb you." He gently sat me down on the edge of the tub and turned on the water. He pulled my shirt over my head and took my bra off, he then slid down to remove my jeans and underwear. Once my clothes were gone he lifted me up and settled me in the water. He took his own clothes off and slid in with me. He poured some bubble bath in and turned on the jets I leaned back against the wall of the tub and sighed. Eric moved me so I was sitting between his legs and leaning back against him. His fingers lightly massaged my shoulders.

"You saved me."

"No, I tackled Lancio, then Pam saved me by chopping off the arm he was strangling me with, then I took the chance to kill him while he was surprised."

"I didn't just mean tonight."

"Oh."

We slipped into a comfortable silence as he bathed me and washed my hair. I was starting to feel better already. I heard a crunch and then he put his bloody wrist in front of me. "Let me heal you."

I took his wrist and gently sucked the blood he was offering. He let out a few soft moans behind me, when I was done I traced my tongue over the holes in his wrist and leaned my head back against him. He was slowly running his hands down my side and over my stomach.

"I love how you feel." He dropped his head and started planting kisses on my neck and shoulders. A little moan escaped my lips, I could feel his excitement pressing against my back. Eric gently lifted me up and slid out from behind me. He knelt in the water before me and grabbed my leg. He ever so lightly licked and kissed his way from the bottom of my foot, all the way up to stomach and back down the other leg. I was whimpering and shaking with excitement. I felt alive again, and now I was going to feel my viking.

Eric's hands slid up my thighs and gripped onto my bottom, pulling it out of the water, and up to his hungry mouth. I gave a little whimper as he nuzzled his head between my legs. "Oh, Eric." I sucked in and held my breath when his tongue parted me. He was in no hurry tonight, his tongue was moving tortuously slow. He gently pushed in one finger, and then the other. I stared down at him and he raised his eyes to mine, never taking his tongue away from me. After all these years, this was still what he liked. My chest was heaving up and down in time with his tongue. He started moving his tongue faster, his fingers however, kept pushing in and out slowly. I felt myself nearing my climax. When he sucked my nub and nibbled on it, I came, trembling and shaking with the powerful sensation. Eric wasn't done yet, as I was in the throws of passion, he turned his head and bit, the feeling of him sucking the blood from my thigh as almost too much to handle.

When he was done drinking his dinner I lowered my hips back into the water and pushed him back against the tub. I slid my body up his and straddled him. I licked his lips and tasted myself on him. Eric grabbed my hips and pushed me down on his length, I was gasping his name as he filled me. He licked and nipped at my breasts as I rode him. His fingers were digging into my hips so hard it would have been painful if I wasn't so turned on. I knew I'd have bruises. Finally having enough of the slow pace, he started thrusting himself up to meet me when I slid down. The movement was spilling water out of the tub but we didn't care at that moment. I tossed my head back to moan, but he'd have none of that. He slid one of his hands off my hip and up to my hair, gripping the back of my short blond hair and pushing my head down so I was looking at him.

"You will look at me, lover."

Chills made their way up my spine when he used the word lover. He hadn't called me that in years. I slid my hands up his chest and up to the wall behind him. Planting my hands on the wall I used it as leverage to push against him harder. I was overcome with lust and the need to feel him. He kept one hand tangled in my hair, gently tugging on it, while the other slipped off my hip and inched its way down to my nub. When I felt his fingers brush up against it, I came undone. I know I screamed loudly, he seemed pleased with my response. As my muscles tensed around him with my climax, he came too. We were staring each other in the eyes, each of us, gasping the others name was we came together.

I slumped forward onto his chest and tried to steady my breathing. He reached around me to rub my back and calm me.

"That was amazing, Eric."

"Yes, it was."

~*~

Later that night we laid wrapped around each other in bed. I was just about to drift off when the phone rang. I reached my hand over to grab it and realized it was Sam calling.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Sook. Thank God, I heard what happened. Alcide told me."

"I'm fine, still a little shaken, but okay. How's Klara?"

"Sleeping right now, I took her and Cody to the zoo." I snorted at that, the thought of a shifter visiting a zoo was a little funny to me.

"When are you guys coming back?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'd like to stay another week if that is okay with you both. Cody and Klara are really enjoying it up here and I think you and Eric need a break away from everything."

"Kind of like a second honeymoon." I smiled at Eric, remembering the first honeymoon we had was cut pretty short.

"Yeah, exactly. What do you think?"

"I think that would be great Sam, I'll owe you. Just make sure Klara calls me tomorrow evening."

"Will do, take care of yourself."

"I will, bye Sam.

"Bye Sookie."

I rolled over and laid my head on Eric's chest.

"What do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea." He slid his arm under me and cradled me close to him.

My eyes were heavy, but I didn't want to sleep, I wanted to spend all night awake with my fierce warrior. I traced the outline of the muscles on his abs.

"I think we should stay close by, just in case. I don't think it is a very good idea to run off to Italy right now. Maybe we can just spend the week here and try to make the most of it."

"You're becoming practical, dear one."

"I learned from the best." I looked up at him and winked. For the first time in what felt like days, he laughed. Not a smirk, but a true laugh that made his chest rumble. It was heavenly.

I curled up against him and fell into a deep sleep.

~*~

I woke up the next night at the same time Eric did. He actually woke up first and started rubbing my back. I had to admit, it was a nice way to wake up. I laid there for a few minutes and let his strong fingers massage my aching muscles. He slid closer to me and planted small kisses on the base of my neck.

"I'm not trying to seduce you, my love. I just want to feel you here with me." I let out a soft sigh and rolled to face him. He brought his hand up and traced the outline of my face. "You are so beautiful." He whispered in my ear and pulled me on top of him. I laid cradled to his chest, feeling my own rise and fall against him. It comforted me to be so close to him. Our lives were often crazy and hectic, he was a king now and that came with a whole package of politics that I hadn't been ready for. But laying here in bed, just the two of us, I knew we'd make it all work out.

I was reluctant to even move, his hands were stroking my hair with a feather-light touch. Every so often he'd trace his fingers down my neck and onto my spine, stroking all the way down to my tailbone and back up. I lifted my head to kiss him, his lips met mine for a slow and tender kiss. Just as we were really getting into it my phone rang. I made a sound of disgust and rolled over. My anger disappeared quickly as I flung the phone open and put it on speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"I went to the zoo yesterday!" I smiled when I heard Klara's voice on the line. I also cringed a bit because she was yelling, but she was rather loud normally.

"I heard, are you having fun?"

"Sam said we get to stay for another week. He's going to take us to the a-aqu-" There was a moment of silence and I heard Sam whisper something to Klara. "We're going to see the fishies!" Even Eric had to smile at that one. I glanced at the phone longingly, feeling a little guilty for letting Sam babysit her for another week so Eric and I could have fun. It wasn't necessarily my idea of responsible parenting, but I did need a break.

"Are you being good?"

"Yup, I haven't gotten in trouble once. Guess what else mommy?"

"What else honey? And daddy is here to so you can talk to both of us."

"Hi daddy! Sam bought us ice cream every night this week. He said that when I get home he's going to send some over so I can have it right before bed."

Eric rolled his eyes and I laughed.

"Oh did he? Can I talk to him honey?"

"Okay, I'm going to watch cartoons with Cody. I love you mommy, I love you daddy."

"I love you too." Eric and I said in unison.

I heard her drop the phone to run and get Sam.

"Hey, they love it here."

"Ice cream before bed. Merlotte, do you plan on letting my child live with you?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Everything okay?"

"Sure is. I can't thank you enough for this."

"Not a problem. Hey, look, I don't want to start trouble or anything. But Alcide called me again. He wanted your new cell phone number."

"Did you give it to him?"

"Yeah, Like I said, not to cause trouble. But he sounded like it was important. I don't know all the details of what is going on over there. So I figured I'd better be safe than sorry. You mad?"

"No, it's fine. I'll deal with him when the time comes. Have fun at the aquarium and take lots of pictures for me."

"I will. I'll have her call again before we leave to come back."

"Thanks Sam. Bye!"

"Bye!"

I shut the phone and flopped back on the bed. Alcide called Sam, to find me. I didn't even want to think about the million ways that this could ruin my day. I turned to Eric, he was looking pretty angry, but he was trying to control it for my sake. Alcide wasn't calling for any emergancy, obviously he knew how to contact Eric. No, this was probably personal, and the look on Eric's face said that he didn't like it one bit.

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TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

A/N: The song I was listening to while Eric and Sookie dance is called Fuego by Pitbull. It's rap, and normally that's not my cup of tea, but it has a nice beat and I have broad tastes in music. So if you need some musical inspiration for that scene, there you have it.

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When Eric and I walked into the club I almost laughed and walked out. Eric must have been confused because the club we were in was certainly not a jazz club. That's where he said we were going. The music coming from the speakers was more of a rap feel with a latin beat to it. Maybe it once was a jazz club, but it certainly wasn't anymore. I grabbed onto Eric's arm to pull him to leave. He had obviously decided to make the best of it and pulled me onto the dance floor.

I hadn't danced with Eric in a long time, but he was just as smooth as ever. Thankfully all the dancing I do while I clean our massive house paid off. He had tried to hire a maid, but I wouldn't hear of it.

I snapped out of my own head when Eric's hands pulled my hips back against him. Even though Eric was over 1,000 and I was, well, not 26 anymore, we still looked like we fit in with the 21-25 set. The regular doses of his blood were keeping me looking young. No one would believe that I was the mother of a 5 year old.

I tried to focus on dancing. I didn't want to think about anything else but having fun tonight. I flashed Eric what I hoped was a sexy smile. I turned my back to Eric and wiggled suggestively. When the beat sped up during the verse of the song I shook my bottom against him. Eric seemed pleased. I turned my head to look back at him. You couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Every time the beat sped up I did it again. I had watched enough MTV to learn how to do a proper booty bounce. I had to say, Eric seemed intrigued by the move and I certainly had the attention of plenty of the guys in the room. The third time I did it Eric slapped my bottom playfully. I turned around and locked lips with him, grinding against him with the music. I had grown love jazz music, but this was much better for the playful mood we were in anyway.

Eric looked like he belonged there. He was wearing jeans that accentuated his very best asset, and a tight blue t-shirt that did nothing to hide the rippling of his muscles when he moved. I eyed him up and down and shivered a bit. Sometimes I still forget that he's all mine. He must have caught my thoughts because he pressed his lips against my earlobe and whispered to me. "You look so sexy tonight."

I had opted to wear a crimson dress. It had a halter top with a plunging sweetheart neckline, it was tight and clung in all the right places. I picked it up in one of those overprice boutiques that Eric was always pushing me into. I knew he'd love it the second I saw it on the rack. I paired it with a matching pair of crimson pumps. My hair was pulled up away from my neck. I was definitely ready for a night out on the town. I was a little over dressed for this place but that was okay, Eric was loving it.

When the song stop Eric grabbed my hand and walked me over to the bar. Some of the club goers were staring in fear, and some were staring in awe. He ordered himself a blood and me a gin and tonic. Luckily we managed to find an unoccupied table in the corner. He held my chair for me then sat down across from me, his hands reaching over to grab mine.

"Sookie, what was that delicious move you did there?" He nodded towards the dance floor, as if I needed any clarification.

"Oh, the booty bounce? That's nothing. I learned it on MTV." I was enjoying flirting with him, batting my eyelashes and pouting my lips a bit. "Did you like it?"

"You will do it for me again tonight. But when you do, you will be wearing considerably less." His eyes were filled with lust and his fangs were all the way down. I was blushing from head to toe and crossing my legs, trying to stop the feeling he was giving me. I was not about to jump him in a bar. However, I was going to have fun with him. I picked up my drink and ran my tongue along the straw before taking a sip, making sure I slowly wrapped my lips around the straw.

Eric licked his lips slowly and I swear I heard him let out a moan. I'm not sure what was making me so brazen, but he was eatin it up. Eric looked down for a minute and swore. He pulled my cell phone out of his pocket. I didn't want to bring my purse in with me, so I had left it in the car, asking Eric to carry my cell. He held up the phone so I could see it was Alcide. He looked like he wanted to answer it and start a fight, but he handed me my cell phone. I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear, cupping my hand on the other so I could hear.

"We need to talk."

"You have Eric's number."

"This doesn't concern him, it concerns you. Can we meet tomorrow?"

I shot Eric a glance, I knew he could hear him. Vampire hearing was something to be admired. He thought about it for a second then nodded to me.

"Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll come get you."

"Will 1pm be okay, I sleep a little later now."

"Of course you do, I'll see you tomorrow at 1pm. Have fun, stay safe."

"You too."

I hung up the phone and looked up to Eric. He took the phone back and shoved it in his pocket.

"You're not mad?"

"I know you will tell me everything that happens. Do I have reason to worry?"

"No."

"Okay then. Let's enjoy the rest of our night." He leaned over the table, I puckered up for a kiss but he planted one on the side of my neck. That send little pleasure waves rippling through me. He gently licked up to my earlobe and sucked it in his mouth. Before I could throw my arms around him he was standing and pulling me back to the dance floor.

~*~

I woke up the next morning delightfully sore. After a few more dances Eric had dragged me out of the bar and back to our home. He wasn't joking when he told me I'd have to dance naked for him later. I was horny and inebriated, so I complied with his request, which led to the roughest sex I had ever had. He had given me more blood to heal me, but I was still pretty sore. I had two hours before Alcide would be here. I gave Eric a kiss on the forehead and set off for the shower. I wanted to get this over with, nothing Alcide brought about was ever good news. I would be forever grateful for his assistance in taking down Lancio, but I wasn't about to offer my body as thanks.

Walking back into the bedroom in a towel I stood in front of the closet, trying to decide what to wear. I didn't want to look like I just fell out of bed, but I wasn't dressing up either. I finally decided on a pair dark blue jeans and an emerald green scoop neck sweater. After dressing I headed back to the bathroom to fix my hair. Thankfully, this was a much easier process since my hair was shorter. I dried and styled it, put on a tiny bit of make-up and tossed on lovely platinum necklace Eric had bought me for our anniversary last year. It was a platinum chain, and dangling from it was a diamond encrusted heart with three blood drop shaped rubies in the center. One for me, one for Eric, and one for Klara. Just as I was heading downstairs, someone was knocking on the door. I took a deep breath and went to greet Alcide.

"Hello Alcide. Would you like to come in?"

"No, that's okay." He looked down at his watch. "We have to go."

"Are we going to be late for something?"

"No, we should have plenty of time if we leave now."

I snatched my purse off the floor by the door and locked up. When we got to the truck, he gave me a boost up, jogged to his side to climb in, and then took off.

"Where are we going?"

"In town to a coffee shop."

"And you're worried about being late getting there?" I had to admit I was confused.

"We are meeting someone."

Suddenly I felt my heart thud to a stop. "Quinn."

"Yeah, look, he just wants to talk to you. He knew you'd never meet him of your own free will."

"Your right, I wouldn't. Now please take me home."

"Sookie, just talk to him. He misses you."

"I'm married Alcide!" I flashed my wedding ring in his face to show him.

"Obviously, that doesn't mean you can't talk to him."

I balled up my fist as a wave of rage rolled through me. Eric's blood was really doing things to my temper lately. I realized I was frequently feeling enraged. I'd have to talk to Eric about that later. There was nothing I could do for now. I'd meet with Quinn and get it over with.

I stared out the window for most of the 10 minute trip. Finally we were pulling up to a small cafe. It looked like a tiny little hole in the wall. Alcide was going to help me out of his truck, but I just jumped down and stormed into the cafe. It only took me two seconds to find Quinn. He's pretty hard to miss, to be totally honest.

Unfortunately for him, I was in no mood to deal with him. I locked my eyes on him and stomped over to his table. I didn't even bother to sit.

"You got Alcide to trick me into coming here. What do you want?"

"Babe, listen..."

"Don't call me that, what do you want?"

"It's not about us, it's about Eric." I was curious to see what is was that Quinn knew. For someone not a vampire, he generally seemed to know quite a bit about them. Maybe it was the nature of his business. I looked around, people were staring at me to see what I was yelling about. I smiled sheepishly and sat down across from Quinn.

"What about my husband?" I noticed him shudder when he said that.

"Here's the short version. The battle with Lancio was no coincidence. Eric and the King of Mississippi provoked him. Edgington wanted Nevada, and Eric wanted to be free of worry that Lancio would try to take over his position as King of Louisiana."

I couldn't get my voice to work so I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. I must have looked like an idiot.

"Eric sent some vamps to Nevada to stir things up, knowing they would trace it back here and start a battle for Louisiana. He put everyone in danger so Edgington could have Nevada."

"Liar." I had never heard my voice laced with so much pure hatred. "You're a liar. He wouldn't have sent our daughter away and put me in danger for Edgington."

"You weren't suppose to be there. After all these years he still hasn't figured out that you are too stubborn to leave when you ought to."

"I would never leave my family." Quinn looked shaken by the use of my word family, in relation to Eric. But that emotion was quickly replaced by anger.

"He still can't put you first. You left me, because you wanted to be put first, that's what you told me. Almost 6 years later, he still isn't putting you first." His anger faded and he looked almost sad. "It didn't matter about being first to you, did it? He was what mattered."

I stared at my hands, I couldn't look at him. "Listen Quinn, thanks for the information, but I have to go." I pushed myself away from the table and ran out of the coffee shop before I made a fool of myself by crying. Alcide was standing out front, leaning against the wall.

"I was suppose to leave so he could take you home, but I figured it might not go well."

"Did you know what he was going to tell me?"

"No, still don't. Want to share?"

I shook my head no and then climbed into his truck. The ride home was short so before I knew it we were pulling up to the house. I let Alcide come around and help me out of the truck.

"Thanks for not being too pissed Sookie."

"I'm mad, just not at you, although I wished you would have told me. But you didn't know what Quinn was going to say."

"What did he say?"

"I really don't want to talk about it. I'll see you later." I turned and ran up to the house, unlocking the door and making my way to the sofa. I heard Alcide pull off down the road. I was angry and trying not to think about the fact that Quinn could be telling the truth. There is no way Eric would do that to me. He wouldn't let me walk blindly into danger just to pacify Edgington and secure Louisiana for himself. Would he?

I hated myself for being suspicious. But was I blind to Eric's true nature? I had loved him so long, that maybe I had overlooked all the signs.

_No, he's not like that_, I thought to myself. I shook my head to push away the traitorous thoughts. I flipped on the t.v. and sat there for an hour or so, trying to take my mind off of Quinn's words. Eric still hadn't put me first, he told me. Finally I couldn't just sit there anymore. I got up and quietly walked upstairs and into Eric's office. He was sleeping, so I'd have time to look around and confirm that Quinn's suspicion was false. I sat down in his chair and went to open a cabinet in the desk, locked. I tried another one, also locked. I realized that I didn't have a key, nor did I know where he kept it. Giving up on the cabinet I turned to his laptop. Flipping it open and turning it on, I soon realized that it was password protected. I was just about to give up when a stack of files sitting on top of his trash can caught my eye.

I ran my fingers over the top of the file and tried to come to terms with what I was doing. I was being a snoop. Eric had given me no reason to distrust him, but here I was like a crazy wife who thinks her husband is cheating on her. I don't know why, but I had to know.

I reached down and picked up the first folder, staring at it in my hands. I must have been standing there a while, fighting with my indecision. Because just as I was about to open it. I heard someone force a cough. I spun around to see Eric staring at me.

And he looked madder than hell.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

A/N: I felt bad about my slow updating recently, so I managed to squeak out Chapter 8.

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Eric stormed across the room, his normally clear blue eyes were hardened with rage.

"What do you think your doing?" He reached for the folder and I flinched. In my heart I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but for a split second I thought he was going to strike me. My flinching just seemed to make him angrier. He snatched the folder out of my hand.

"I'll ask one more time. What do you think your doing?" His voice boomed when he said the last part. I slid into the corner the corner where I had been standing and sunk down to the ground. I curled up in a ball and cried, I knew I had screwed up big time.

"Obviously you didn't look too well at these pictures. They are all of Klara's school teachers." He grabbed another stack of folders and held them up. "These are possible nannies. Remember that discussion we had when you agreed to hire someone to watch her if you ever needed to accompany me to Fangtasia." He threw the folders across the room, they hit the wall with a thud and scattered everywhere.

"They are background checks. Do you think I would let anyone near her without knowing they were safe?" I sniffled and cried in the corner. I didn't know if I should tell him about what Quinn said or not. Suddenly I felt a yank on my wrist, he pulled me up and stood me in front of him.

"You will tell me why you were going through my things, now."

"Quinn said.." I didn't get to finish that thought because Eric let out a low growl.

"You were to be with Alcide, what the hell were you doing with Quinn?"

"Alcide didn't tell me, but he wanted to take me to see him. That's why he wanted to meet me today."

"I'll kill him."

"It's not Alcide's fault, he didn't know what Quinn wanted."

Eric looked me over and then rested his cold blue eyes on mine. "What did he want?"

"Quinn told me everything. He knows what really happened and why you went to war with Lancio."

"Really, and what exactly did he tell you?"

"He said that Edgington wanted Nevada and you didn't want to have to worry about Lancio taking Louisiana from you. So you sent some of our vamps to cause trouble in Nevada, knowing they would trace it back here and go to war, a war we won. Giving Edgington Nevada, and you permanent control of Louisiana." When I was finished Eric's face was no longer one of controlled rage, he had completely lost it. He grabbed my wrist and yanked hard. He pulled me out of his office and into our bedroom. I had started crying in the hallway because it hurt bad. He pushed me onto the bed and walked over to our dresser. He pulled out the top drawer, then reached beneath it and produced a key. He turned and threw it at me.

"If you think that I would risk my family, and everything I love, so Edgington can have Nevada, than you are delusional. If someone wants this damned state they can have it. I'd be happy with just you and Klara by my side. I'd leave everything. But you don't believe that. Go look, see if you can find what you are looking for." He turned away and, in a fit of rage, punched the wall by the door frame, his fist plowing through straight to the other side. He jerked his hand back and then turned to me.

"Six years, Sookie, SIX YEARS." He's voice was thundering by this point. I had curled up in a ball on the bed, holding my throbbing wrist and crying. He walked over towards the bed and I flinched in anticipation. Instead of striking me, he yanked the wedding ring off his finger and threw it on the bed next to the key.

"Six years, and you still don't trust me." His voice was softer that time, but no less intense. Without another word he turned his back to me and walked out, slamming the door behind him. My heart felt like it had been ripped out and stomped on. My wrist was already a dark shade of blue, but all I could think about was Eric leaving. Had I really angered him so badly that he would leave me for good? Tears were pouring down my face and I was ready to curl up and try to sleep the pain away when I heard my phone ring. I was really getting sick of the phone. Thinking it might be Klara, I jogged downstairs and grabbed it out of my purse. Without even looking at it I flung it open.

"Hello?"

"Babe, listen please, just for a minute before you hang up."

"Quinn you have one minute before I hang up."

"I was wrong about Eric but right about Edgington. He was the one who paid some of Eric's vamps to instigate the war. Eric had no idea, he was being honest with you."

"Lot of good that does me now. Why wouldn't you bother to find out if something was true, before telling me?"

"I thought it was. It sounded right."

"Yeah, well, you win. Eric left, he caught me snooping in his office. He threw his wedding ring down and walked out. So now I hope you're really happy." I slammed the phone shut and threw it back into my purse. I had known in my heart that Eric wouldn't do anything. Why had I been so stupid? I had to go find him. I went upstairs and grabbed his wedding ring off the bed. Running back downstairs I grabbed my purse off the table. Once I got out to my SUV, I tried to formulate a plan. I'd check Fangtasia first, if he wasn't there then I'd enlist Pam's help in finding him. I closed my eyes, said a little prayer, then took off.

~*~

I pulled up to Fangtasia and stole a glance at myself in the side mirror as I got out of the SUV. I was a mess, my make up had run, my eyes were puffy and I looked like I'd been through hell. I tried to straighten myself out a little as I made my way to the front door. Pam spotted me and waved me in.

"What happened? He's in rare form tonight."

"We had a fight."

"That explains the attitude. He's in his office right now." Pam paused for a minute then took my arm. She guided me down the hall to his office, the door was shut so she knocked loudly. This was unusual for Pam who often just barged in. When the door flung open I could see why she knocked. It wasn't Eric who answered. It was a petite brunette. She was shorter than me, and dressed in true fangbanger fashion. She looked like the kind of girl you could find on the corner. My eyes caught a glimpse of the fresh pair of bite marks on her neck.

I stumbled back. I thought my heart had stopped beating. Eric made it obvious that I was dispensable, easily replaced by another willing donor. While I had been lost in my own mind, Eric had came to the door. The look on my face hurt him, I could see the pain in his eyes. "Sookie, it's not what it looks like. Come in here and I will explain."

I looked from him to her and bolted to the ladies room. I sunk to my knees in a stall and started throwing up. My nerves were shot, I just couldn't handle the thought of him and that trash. I was crying and heaving for a few minutes before I heard the door open and Pam's voice calling my name.

"What?"

"It really isn't what it looks like."

"Oh really, cause it looks like we have one argument and he goes and finds the closest donor."

"He didn't feed on her, but he needs to be explaining this to you, not me." Pam pushed open the unlocked stall door and lifted me to my feet. She brushed the hair away from my face and handed me a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

"Eric had this in his desk. He said you have a tendency to throw up when you are upset, so he always keeps these handy." I took the items from her hand and started crying again. Pam took them back and put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, then turned the water on for me before handing me the toothbrush. "Here, you'll feel better." I stood there crying a brushing until my mouth felt cleaner.

"Come." Pam put one hand on each shoulder and guided me to Eric's office. When I got there the fangbanger was sitting on his couch. He was behind his desk. Then I noticed another man standing in a corner. He was a vamp, and none to happy to be there. I hadn't noticed him the first time. I also had not went into Eric's office all the way, so I guess I could have missed him initially.

"Sookie, this is Devon and Heather." I nodded to them then looked to him. He wouldn't look at me. "They were in my office being lectured on feeding in public, which they know is not allowed." I suddenly felt like the worlds biggest idiot. For the second time today I had shown my total lack of faith in him. He didn't feed on her, he was just making sure his bar stayed on the up and up. The fang marks weren't his, they were Devon's.

"I-I'm sorry I overreacted."

"You may all leave us. Devon, let's not make this mistake again." I watched as everyone left and soon it was just me and Eric.

"Sookie, why don't you trust me?"

"I do, I swear, I knew in my heart none of these things were true. I'm just upset and tired, not to mention stressed from our lives this week." I breathed in deep and then continued. "Quinn called me back, he told me he was wrong. He thought you were involved but it was really just Edgington." Eric raised his eyebrow but then motioned for me to keep talking.

"He said that Edgington wanted Nevada, so he, not you, paid off some of your vamps to start trouble for Lancio. Then he set you up to take the fall, only to appear to 'rescue' you at the last minute." I stopped and looked for any sign of recognition. When Eric didn't say or do anything I started talking again.

"I thought about it on the way over. Edgington wanted Nevada, but he couldn't do it by himself, so he starts this war, and then comes to help you. He obviously knew you had no interest in Nevada, so he'd be the clear choice to take over. He figures he will keep you here in Louisiana since you are loyal. I think as long as he doesn't know that you are aware of the truth, he will leave you in peace. I think if he finds out that you know, he will try to take Louisiana too. I think faking ignorance is better."

I finished talking and looked over to Eric. He stood from his desk and slowly walked around it. It was starting to look like he was going to walk right past me and leave. Thankfully he didn't. He stopped in front of me then reached out, yanking me close to him and hugging me tight. He picked up my bruised wrist and kissed it softly.

"I am sorry Sookie, I never meant to hurt you. When I thought you still didn't trust me, it hurt. I'm not used to feeling that kind of pain. I did not mean to harm you."

"Eric, I knew you were telling the truth, I don't know what got into me. I really don't. Even when I was going through the office I knew it was stupid."

"Shh." Eric pulled me tight to him and kept planting little kisses on my wrist. I wrapped my free arm around his body and clung to him. When I remembered his ring, I gently pushed away from him. I reached into my purse and pulled out his ring. I slid it on the tip of my index finger and held it out to him. He extended his left hand and let me slip the ring back on his finger. Once I had, I kissed his ring finger then pulled his hand to my heart.

"I'm so sorry. I swear I will never doubt you again."

"It's not your fault, you've seen the very worst that vampires have to offer. Just know, that while I may be cunning and ruthless when I have to be, I would have never done anything like that. Especially because I knew deep down that you were never going to go with Sam and Klara. I would have never sacrificed my own people, and you, just to have job security." He smiled at me and I giggled. He said job security in reference to being the King, in the same way people say it about working at a bank. Eric tilted his head down and kissed the corners of my mouth.

"It makes me happy to see you smile." He slid one hand around my back and the other under my knees, lifting me up and squeezing me close to him. "I love you, and nothing would make me risk your life." I laid my head on his shoulder and took in his heavenly scent. He smelled earthy and manly. I loved his scent and I could have stayed there all night. "I love you too, and I promise I'll stop being the crazy wife."

"Don't, I love that you still keep me on my toes. Just from now on, trust me. If you have questions, ask me."

I nodded and held him tighter. He carried me through the bar, stopping only to ask Pam to drive his corvette back and letting her know that he would make sure that she had her car back by morning. When we got to my SUV he pulled the keys out of my purse and sat me in the passenger seat. He climbed in the drivers side. He turned to me before we drove off.

"I wish you'd let me buy you a new one of these." He turned back to the wheel and started the SUV. I laughed at his random statement. He had wanted to upgrade me to a brand new one years ago, but I still liked this one and refused to give it up just yet. I reached over and held his hand tightly. Today I had experienced every emotion from rage, to love, to unbearable pain, and I just wanted to relax and let Eric love me.

When we got home Eric swept me up into his arms again and headed for the front door. I felt him stop in his tracks and rage flooded our bond again. I was trembling from the depth of his anger, he hadn't even been that mad at me earlier. I turned my head to see who his rage was directed towards. I could barely make out the shape in the dark. Eric appeared to know who it was. He sat me down gently and kissed my forehead. He turned around and before I could blink he was at the top of the steps with the man's throat in his hands. Eric turned and threw him back down the steps and onto the ground in front of the house. Since he was closer to me now, I was able to look down and see the man that Eric was about to kill.

Quinn.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

A/N: This is a short one, but I've been battling insomnia and a monster migraine for the past few days. I'll try to update with another chapter tomorrow or Tuesday.

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Quinn's leg had made a sickening crunching sound when he landed on it, but he was already fighting to stand up. Eric was stalking across the front yard after him. I knew if Eric touched him that he would kill him. I made the quick decision to intervene. I couldn't let Quinn die, as much as I wanted to kill him myself sometimes, I couldn't have his death weighing on my already guilty mind. I didn't need to add a tiger into the mix of people that have died because of me.

"Eric!" I yelled and jumped in front of him. He looked down at me for a second. "Eric, please, don't kill him, it's not worth it."

"Sookie, He knows, that I know the truth. If he tells Edgington.." I could see his anger growing the more he talked.

"You can't kill him, he won't talk, I'll make him promise me." Eric snorted at that.

"Like he's ever kept a promise to you." That stung a little, I know Quinn isn't the most reliable, but he had been looking out for me.

"Please Eric." I turned his face to mine so he could see the tears forming in my eyes. It was low, but I knew he couldn't stand to see me cry. Eric gently pushed me away and went to Quinn. He reached down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him in the air.

"Tiger you are lucky my wife is here to save you. Or else I'd have a tiger skin rug." I saw Quinn's eyes roll in the back of his head. "Eric! You're going to kill him." He spun around to look at me, at first I thought he was going to crush his throat, but he simply let go, letting Quinn's body hit the ground.

Eric towered over Quinn. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you, to ensure your silence. Your interferance almost cost me Sookie." Eric turned his head to look at me, and then snapped back to Quinn. "You are lucky we resolved the problem."

Quinn finally was able to speak. "I was just looking out for Sookie."

"That's why you won't die, tonight. You will say nothing about what I know, to anyone. Do you understand me?"

Quinn just nodded.

"Sookie, call Alcide. Explain that Quinn instigated a fight with me, and lost. Have him come get this overgrown kitten." Eric turned and walked into the house, leaving me outside with Quinn. I fished in my purse for my cell phone and called Alcide, explaining everything to him. He wasn't really responsible for Quinn, but I knew they respected each other, and if nothing else, Alcide would do it for me.

While we waited for him to show up I sat down next to Quinn.

"What were you thinking?"

"I wanted to apologize in person. Look, Nothing I told you was the truth. Well, scratch that. The scenerio is the truth, but the players are a little different."

"You mean Edgington...?"

"Knows absolutely nothing about this."

"You do?"

"A little, Edgington is just the fall guy. The one that everyone will assume did this. Give me a few days to figure everything out and then I'll let you know everything. My work puts me in a position of knowing great secrets, but I can't give anyone cause to think that I'm sharing them."

I slide my hand under his back and tried to help him sit up. It was a struggle but he was finally in an upright position.

"Babe, I'm only doing this for you. But, I will only help you if you promise to keep bat boy away from me."

"Fine, but why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't, I was just telling you what I thought to be the truth. As soon as I knew it wasn't I called you the first time, then came to you this time."

"Just make sure you are right the next time you tell me something. Because this could cost all of us our lives."

He just nodded and hung his head. I knew he was angry with himself but I didn't feel the need to comfort him. He had almost ruined my marriage. I looked back up at the house and saw the curtains shut quickly. I smiled to myself, Eric was checking up on me. I didn't really have time to dwell on my happiness because Alcide had pulled up and was standing in next to me.

"I won't say a word, I owe you that much for today."

"Yes you do, and thanks. How are you going to get Quinn home?"

"I brought someone with me to drive his truck back. He doesn't know who lives here, or why Quinn is banged up."

"Good." He extended his hand down to me to pull me up. Once I was standing he hugged me close. "I wish things had turned out differently between us Sookie." I smiled and gently pushed away. "I'm happy Alcide." He looked stricken.

"I know, but if your ever not happy, think of me?" I nodded and held his hand for a second. Alcide really wasn't that bad of a guy, he just made poor choices sometimes.

"Thanks again for taking care of Quinn." Alcide just shrugged and helped Quinn to his feet, the other guy got out of the truck and helped Alcide. Quinn was limping pretty badly but I knew Alcide would get him home safe.

~*~

I waited until they had all left and were out of sight before heading back into the house. Once I was safe inside I leaned my head back against the door and let out a loud sigh. I heard Eric move around in the living room and turned to look at him. He was staring at me through thouse beautiful blue eyes. I just wanted to be in his arms at that moment.

As if he heard my thoughts, Eric turned and walked across the room to grab me in his arms. "I wish you would have let me kill him."

"I know, but I couldn't." I nuzzled my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You have an annoying habit of wanting your ex-lovers alive." I snorted and held him closer.

"You were once an ex-lover of mine."

"True, but then again, I never betrayed you, did I?" I thought about it, he was always there when I needed him, often putting himself and his business at risk.

"No, no you didn't. And thats why we are married, with a beautiful family."

"Speaking of which, dear one, Klara called. It appears that she is requesting a pet shark for her birthday." I laughed. Leave it to a daughter of his to want a shark instead of a dolphin. Of course, maybe she got that from me. More than once Sam had told me that I was swimming with the sharks when it came to vampires.

"I guess she loved the aquarium."

"We should go sometime." He said it in a flat even tone, as if he always did those sort of things.

My head snapped up to look at him. Eric was a wonderful father, but he wasn't the 'take your kids to the aquarium' kind of dad. He spent every minute he could with Klara, but they were usually playing outside, or if it was too cold for her, they'd play hours of spongebob monopoly. Eric never figured out the fascination with the sponge, but he accepted that his daughter loved it, and he played along without a word of complaint.

"You mean like.."

"Yes, like take her out somewhere. I'm sure the aquarium is open a little later some evenings." I smiled and kissed his chest, over his heart. I had learned a long time ago that just because his heart didn't beat, didn't mean that he didn't have one. "You are a wonderful father."

"And you are a wonderful mother and wife. That is why the Were's seem to be so attracted to you, you'd be a wonderful mate." His tone was deadpan, but I knew he was smiling, I didn't even have to look up.

"Oh yeah, and you want to rent me out to lonely Were's? Is that a new business plan?" I poked him lightly in the side and he laughed.

"No, dear one, I'd have to kill whomever I rented you out to. I'm a bit jealous of others touching my wife." I frowned, I knew he was referring to Alcide's hug, and me holding his hand.

"I was just letting him down gently."

"I know, you are a sweet person."

"Not especially." I felt his chest rumble with laughter. I had said that exact thing to him the first night we met. He terrified me that night, he was beautiful but in a dangerous way. Not that he wasn't anymore, but I knew now that he would never harm me.

"I wish I would have just give up then and let you have me. It probably would have saved me a lot of heartache."

He seemed to think before he spoke. Many years ago we learned that we could read each other's mind because of our strong blood bond, and my telepathy. We had long ago decided it would be best if we stayed out of each other's thoughts, unless it was an emergency. "If you had done that, we wouldn't appreciate all that we have now."

"True." I glanced over at the clock, it was still early in the evening. "What now?"

"Your asking me, what I want to do with you? Do you not know me at all?"

I swatted his arm playfully. "I mean outside of the bedroom Northman. I want to do something. It's only 12am, we still have a few hours." He ran his fingers through my hair and appeared to be thinking.

"I got it, there is a place I have been meaning to take you to for years. We've just never had the time and I've never thought about it." Eric practically pulled me outside and into his corvette. We took off heading in the direction of the city, but he made a few quick turns and suddenly we were going up a very steep winding road.

~*~

"Close your eyes." I raised an eyebrow at him but then shrugged and closed them. I heard the car stop and him opening my door. He let go of my hand briefly to grab something out of his trunk. He took my hand again and led me further from the car. I heard the gravel crunch under our feet, then soft grass. He let go again to sit down whatever it was in his hand. When he was done he lifted me up and cradled me for a second. He slid down to the blanket that he had taken from the trunk, and sat me on his lap. He spread his legs a little and sat me between them so my back was against his chest. Both of his arms wrapped around my waist, he leaned down and kissed my ear softly. "Open your eyes, lover."

When I opened my eyes and let out a soft gasp. We were in what appeared to be a field, but it sat up above the city. Looking down I could see all the city lights and the faint glow that the city gave off. "Eric, this is beautiful. When did you find this?"

"While you were in the hospital recovering from Felipe's attack. You had fallen asleep and I didn't want to wake you, so I went for a drive. I came across this place and sat up here for a while, thinking about you and how fragile you looked in that hospital bed." I could hear him getting a little choked up, it may have been years ago, but sometimes it seemed like yesterday.

"I'm okay though. I'm here."

"The night I was here alone, I had promised myself I'd do anything to make sure that you were able to come here with me one night."

"It only took about 6 years." I laughed a little and he did too. It was a nice sound. I slid down so my head was resting under his chin. Eric's fingers were brushing against the skin that was peeking out from in between my jeans and sweater.

I stared up at the moon, it was hanging low in the sky and casting a beautiful light on Eric's pale skin. "This reminds me of the night you came back from tribunal. We made love with the moonlight pouring through the window and into the room. It was beautiful."

"I remember that night perfectly. It's the night I knew that I couldn't wait any longer to make you my bride."

I slid my hands down to Eric's and laced my fingers through his. Gazing at our wedding rings, side by side, I couldn't help but feel a rush of joy. Our lives were often messy and complicated, we were busy and hurried, but here tonight it was just the two of us. It felt like the world melted away, like we were on the outside looking in. Of course I had to ruin it by thinking about what Quinn told me.

"Eric?"

"Hmm?"

"Quinn told me he was wrong about Edgington. Someone is setting him up, making him the fall guy for their plans. Whoever it is, wants us to believe that Edgington betrayed you."

"Does he know who this person is?"

"No, he said he is going to see what he can find out over the next couple of days. He doesn't want anyone figuring out that he's been sharing secrets. His job pretty much ensures that he knows more than he ought to about vamp politics. Whoever this 3rd party is, must not know about Quinn's, ah, uhm...feelings for me. If they did, they would have never let anything slip while he was near."

I could see the wheels turning in Eric's mind. He was trying to figure out who knew about my previous relationship with Quinn and who didn't. If we could find the ignorant party, we'd have an answer. He looked down at me and kissed my forehead.

"We will think on it tomorrow. Let tonight be about us."

I shook my head to clear the thoughts running through them. I shut my mind out to my conspiracy theories and focused on my gorgeous viking. I slid down until I was laying with my head in his lap, stretched out and staring up at the stars. Eric lifted his hands to my face and started tracing my features with his fingertips. It was getting to be a bit chilly outside and I only had on a light sweater. When I shivered Eric stood up and then reached for my hand. When I stood he pulled the blanket up and wrapped it around me. He sat back down on the grass and pulled me with him, laying me down in the same position I was before, but now I was snug and warm.

~*~

It took a second for the shock to wear off as I woke up in our bed. We had been outside when I drifted off. I looked up to see Eric gazing down at me, his hands softly rubbing my sides.

"You fell asleep, I didn't want to wake you." I rolled over on my side to face him and snuggled up against him. I realized that he had changed me into a pair of sleep pants and t-shirt.

"What time is it?"

"Six."

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Six in the evening."

"Oh." I smiled lazily and closed my eyes again.

"You've been sleeping a lot lately. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just feeling a bit run down, that's all."

I felt Eric shift as he sat up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He took me in his arms and pulled me up so I was pressed against him.

"Did Quinn say that he would contact you?"

"He said he would when he knew something concrete." Eric just nodded and held me tighter.

"We have to go to Fangtasia tonight. I don't want anyone to think we are hiding, or that we even know anything at all." I let out an overly dramatic sigh and flung my hands up to my face.

"You horrible person, you are going to force me to sit next to you on your thrown, while all admire us. What kind of monster are you?" I slid my hands down from my face and flicked my eyes up towards Eric. He let out a laugh so loud it shook me.

"Maybe you should be an actress."

"Ha, my life is crazy enough as it is."

"True, come lover, let's shower and get work over with." He looked straight into my eyes then wiggled his eyebrows. "That way we can play later."

I giggled and jumped off the bed, running into our bathroom to start what promised to be an amazing shower.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, some of you are really going to hate me after this. However, it is in the best interest of the story. This is the last chapter of Dead Parenting. I was starting to feel trapped and I was experiencing intense writers block. I had to shake everything up.

If I lose any readers, I'm sorry, but I hope most of you will have faith in me. There is a sequel to Dead Parenting. It will be called "A Second Chance." I'm going to post the first chapter immediately after I post this one. I hope you all forgive me. But in the interest of writing a good story that didn't turn into boring nothingness, I had to do it.

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"Sookie?" I felt a soft shaking of my shoulder. My eyes fluttered open to take in my viking. He was leaning over me with a worried look on his face. "You've been out for a while. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I lifted my hands to rub my eyes and realized my wedding bands were gone. I wiggled my fingers at Eric. "Where did they go?"

"They?"

"My rings." I pointed to my left hand and wiggled my ring finger. Eric looked at me and then turned to Pam. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

"No, I just found her laying outside." Pam's face came into view, she was looking at me with the same expression Eric had.

"Eric where are my wedding rings?"

"You were wed?"

"Of course, stop being silly. See..." My voice caught in my throat as I lifted Eric's hand, he had no ring on.

"Where is your ring Eric?"

"Sookie, I think you just had a dream." I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was at my old house, in my old pajamas, and I felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

"Is Klara home yet?"

Eric and Pam looked at each other and then back to me. "Who's Klara, lover?"

"That is not funny Eric, where is our daughter?"

"O-Our daughter? Oh Sookie I think you got banged up much worse than we thought. You must have had a pretty good dream."

I felt tears spring to my eyes. There was no way the past 6 years were all just a dream. I stood on my shaky legs and went to my cell phone. I flipped it open looking at the date. I wavered, almost passing out. It was 6 years earlier than it should be.

"No, No. It couldn't have all been a dream." I lifted my shirt, looking for the old scars that Eric's lashings at tribunal had left me with. My skin was completely smooth. I looked over to Eric who was looking at me with curiosity.

I ran to my bed room and threw myself on the bed. This couldn't be a dream, _I'm just dreaming that I had a dream. I'll wake up soon and everything will be fine._ I pinched myself a few times, nothing. I looked all around my room, it was exactly as I had left it years ago, but it shouldn't be. Amelia had moved into my room when Eric and I got married.

"Sookie?" Eric was standing in my door frame. "Did you dream we were married with a child?"

"It's not a dream, this is the dream, this is just a nightmare."

"Sookie, this is real life." I felt the edge of my bed move as Eric sat down. "This is the first time I've came to you since the night you saved me and Felipe. Felipe and Victor have finally left. I sent Pam over because I felt your pain but couldn't come to you. I was making sure that Felipe and Victor were truly on their way back to Nevada. Pam found you, someone had beaten you pretty bad and left you out front for dead."

"No, your lying." My heart was breaking, it just could not be a dream. Our wedding, and Klara, both were so real to me. Eric grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Sookie, I would not lie to you. You've been out for 2 days straight. We've been here nights and the shifter has been here during the day. You just had a very vivid dream." He smoothed the hair back from my face and looked into my eyes. One look was all it took for me to know he was telling the truth. I burst into tears and clung to him. I held on to my imaginary husband, the imaginary father of my imaginary child.

Once I realized I was still clinging to him as if he were mine, I pushed him away. I stood up from my bed and crossed the room, staring at him. I could find no comfort with him, he wasn't mine, he wasn't my husband Eric. For the second time I had fell in love with an Eric that wasn't quite real. He looked hurt by my rejection.

"Lover, I was coming to talk with you anyway."

"It's not the same, you don't understand." I tried to run from the room but he gripped onto my wrist.

"Then tell me." I turned and sat down on the bed with him, sniffling the whole time. He slid his arm around my shoulder and held onto me.

"Eric, we were happy. You took me on some dates, we were married. Niall gave us the gift of life as a wedding gift, enabling us to have Klara, our daughter. She is.." I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "She was 5. You loved her and me very much. The last thing I remember is us getting ready to leave for Fangtasia." I took a deep breath before saying the rest. Because even in my dreams Eric didn't know this.

"I was planning on telling you later that I had found out that I was pregnant again. Niall's magic was potent enough to last 5 years. He really wanted to give us a family." When I was done I dissolved into sobbing again. Eric didn't say anything, he just slid his hand down and placed it on my stomach.

"You were pregnant with our second child." I sobbed harder and shook with my crying. "Yes I was."

"Sookie, I'm sorry it was just a dream. I'd have loved for it to be true." His hands were tracing circles on my stomach, but I couldn't handle that. He'd done that when I was pregnant with Klara. _What am I thinking, I was never pregnant_. I was still thinking of my dream as what actually happened. I straightened up and slid away from him. I needed a new subject, this one was ripping my heart out.

"Who's trying to kill me now?"

"FotS, I think. We've been losing waitress at Fangtasia left and right. I was coming to ask if you'd work there for a few days."

"That's why you were coming?"

"I wanted to have our talk too."

"As a second thought to your bar?"

"Sookie, that's not fair and you know it."

I stood up to leave but then spun to face him. "No, what's not fair is having you love me, and for the second time, it wasn't the real you."

With that said I ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I sat on the edge of the counter and had a good cry.

~*~

When I came down stairs, Eric was gone. Pam was sitting on the sofa reading a book. I felt a little better after taking a shower. I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I was just dreaming. I made my way over to the sofa and sat next to Pam. My sniffling started again when I realized that she wasn't dream Pam either. We weren't like family anymore. She was Eric's child, and my sometimes friend.

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing important."

"He looked upset when he left."

"He can join the club." I wasn't trying to be mean, but my heart was breaking and I didn't need Pam's guilt trip.

"Eric loves you, everyone can see it, why can't you?"

"I did see it, I dreamed that Eric was my husband, we had a child, and that you were my closest friend. My dreams were just wrong all the way around."

Pam reached over and grabbed my hand tightly. "Sookie, you listen to me. Eric loves you, he's admitted it to me. He was coming to tell you, I realize that you are upset over your dream, but do not question his feelings," She paused and looked at me right in the eyes. "Or mine. I'm fond of you, we could be friends if you'd ever let yourself get over this." I snatched my hand away from Pam and walked out front. I just needed to breathe. I almost expected to see my Porsche out front, but I didn't, just the Malibu.

Suddenly I got an idea, I ran back into the house and grabbed my keys. Pam tried to follow me but I threatened to stake her if she did.

----------------------------------------------------------

TBC in "A Second Chance"


End file.
